The United States is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, CBS News reported.
The potential indictment would need to be approved by a grand jury. It is expected to focus on Cuba's destruction of two Cessnas flown by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile group that searched for Cubans attempting to flee the island on rafts. A Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet shot down the planes in February 1996, killing four people.
A report by the Organization of American States found the planes were shot down outside Cuban airspace and alleged that Cuba violated international law by shooting without warning and without evidence that it was necessary. The incident drew sharp condemnation at the time. Cuban officials have argued the shootdown was legitimate, claiming the group had violated Cuban airspace.
The move comes as the Trump administration has increased pressure on the Cuban government across multiple fronts. The administration has threatened heavy tariffs on any country that exports oil to Cuba, leading to energy shortages as oil shipments have been largely cut off. President Trump has also pressed for major reforms in Cuba and floated a so-called friendly takeover of the country.
That pressure intensified in January after the U.S. military removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face drug charges. Venezuela had been a key partner of Cuba before that operation.
Raúl Castro formally stepped down as leader of Cuba's Communist Party in 2021, but he is still widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in the country. His grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as Raulito, is viewed as both a representative of the elder Castro and a key point of contact between the U.S. and Cuba.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with the younger Castro on Thursday, following an earlier U.S. visit the month before. Ratcliffe personally delivered a message from President Trump that the U.S. is "prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes," according to a CIA official. The official also said Cuba can "no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere."
Months earlier, Miami's top federal prosecutor launched a new initiative targeting Cuban communist leaders. That initiative involves federal and local law enforcement and the U.S. Treasury Department and is pursuing prosecutions involving economic crimes, drugs, violent crimes, and immigration-related violations, with a focus on Communist Party leadership. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the potential Castro indictment.
