US Indicts Raul Castro and Five Cuban Officials in 1996 Brothers to the Rescue Shoot-Down
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a superseding indictment charging Raul Modesto Castro Ruz and five Castro regime co-defendants for their alleged roles in the February 24, 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft, which killed four Americans; the indictment accuses conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder, with potential penalties including death or life imprisonment. The case, led by the Southern District of Florida and the FBI, marks a rare instance of Cuban leadership facing U.S. criminal charges.