Florida has issued an arrest warrant for Raul Castro, the 95-year-old former Cuban leader, in a move that comes as US authorities increase pressure on the government in Havana.
State Attorney General James Uthmeier said on Monday that the warrant rests on criminal charges linked to Castro’s alleged role in ordering two unarmed aircraft to be shot down in 1996. Those charges are state-level counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Florida charges tied to the 1996 aircraft downing
The planes were operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based group that assists Cubans attempting to leave the island. Four people died in the attack, which took place on February 24, 1996.
In a news release, Uthmeier said Castro had ordered the murder of four Floridians and vowed that the state would keep pursuing accountability for what he called a communist conspiracy. He said the warrant was a necessary step for the lives lost, and he named the victims as Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Pena and Armando Alejandre Jr.
US authorities maintain that the planes were flying over international waters and received no warning before they were fired upon. Cuban officials, however, have argued that earlier flights by the group had violated the country’s airspace despite repeated warnings to stay away.
Castro’s role in Cuba and the decision’s renewed scrutiny
Castro was Cuba’s defence minister at the time of the attack. A senior figure in the Communist Party of Cuba, he became president of the island in 2008, succeeding his brother, the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. He stepped down as president in 2018, but he and his family still hold considerable influence in the government.
The decision to bring down the two small twin-engine planes has drawn fresh attention over the past year, as Republican President Donald Trump works to remove Cuba’s communist leadership. Since the start of the year, the Trump administration has said it would like to see regime change on the island.
US pressure on Havana and the federal indictment
To push for that change, Washington has tightened restrictions on Cuba. In January it imposed a de facto energy blockade, threatening steep tariffs on any country that supplies the island with oil. According to experts, this has effectively cut off fuel exports to Cuba.
The shortage has worsened conditions on the island and put further strain on a power system that already depends heavily on fossil fuels, only 40 percent of which is produced domestically. Additional sanctions have also restricted Cuba’s state-run industries.
In May, the administration unveiled a superseding indictment against Castro over the 1996 downings. It charges him with federal offences including conspiracy to kill US nationals, destroying aircraft and four counts of murder.
On Monday, the Trump administration backed Florida’s action. US Attorney Jason Reding Quinones said Washington was committed to pursuing “every lawful, prosecutable avenue to bring accountability, including parallel federal and state prosecutions.” He added that the federal indictment had laid the groundwork, and that Uthmeier and his team had now brought charges under Florida law.
The administration has previously used indictments to justify military operations against foreign leaders it considers hostile to the US, including former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
