Former Cuban leader Raul Castro has been indicted for his role in the 1996 downing of two airplanes that were part of a humanitarian organization.
The 94-year-old former leader, who succeeded his brother, Fidel, in 2008 after the elder Castro grew too infirm the govern, stepped down in 2021, but has retained influence over Cuba’s government.
He is accused of ordering Cuban air force pilots to shoot down two planes working with the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, according to USA Today.
Three of those killed were U.S. citizens.
Justice is Coming for the Castro Regime! Viva Cuba Libre!🇺🇸🇨🇺
Trump Justice Department expected to indict former Cuban leader Raul Castro | Fox News https://t.co/feD4wWvFqe
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) May 20, 2026
At the time of the incident, Fidel Castro — who died in 2008 — took responsibility for downing the planes, according to the Miami Herald.
BREAKING: Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro has been indicted in the United States. pic.twitter.com/TEAK9LvycV
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 20, 2026
However, in 2006, the newspaper el Nuevo Herald, a sister paper of the Miami Herald, obtained audio of Raul Castro telling Cuban reporters that he was in charge of shooting the planes out of the sky.
According to CBS, a report by the Organization of American States said the planes were downed outside of Cuban airspace, making the incident a violation of international law.
Today I joined my colleagues as we made the case for indicting Raúl Castro and holding the Cuban regime accountable for the murder of American citizens on a humanitarian mission but, for decades, Cuba has harbored our fugitives, provided a safe haven for terrorists and our… pic.twitter.com/NRWSqzlDep
— Rep. Nicole Malliotakis Office (@RepNicole) May 20, 2026
As The Hill noted, the indictment could have broad ramifications, considering the history of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro:
“In indicting Castro, the U.S. is laying a similar groundwork that led to the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was also indicted in a U.S. court before armed forces seized him from his compound,” the outlet reported.
The indictment came on the same day that Secretary of State Marco Rubio upped the pressure campaign on Cuba by publicly denouncing the Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., or GAESA, a conglomerate controlled by the Cuban military. Rubio said it gets rich off of the misery of everyday Cuban citizens.
“They profit from hotels, construction, banks, stores and even from the money your relatives send you from the U.S. everything, everything passes through their hands,” Rubio said in Spanish, according to CBS.
He addressed the people of Cuba:
“From those remittances they retain a percentage, but from GAESA’s profits nothing reaches you.
“The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S. As you know, better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years,” Rubio said.
“The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people,” Rubio said.
“Today in Cuba, only those close to the GAESA elite or who are part of it can have profitable businesses,” Rubio said. “But President Trump is offering a new path between the U.S. and a new Cuba.
“A new Cuba where you, the ordinary Cuban, and not just GAESA, can own a gas station or a clothing store, or a restaurant.”
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