The United States has filed criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft that killed four people, including three American citizens.
According to Antigua.news, U.S. prosecutors announced the charges in Miami, framing the move as a long-overdue pursuit of justice nearly three decades after the deadly incident.
The case centres on two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based Cuban exile organisation, which were shot down by Cuba in February 1996. U.S. officials maintain that the aircraft were flying in international airspace at the time of the attack. Cuba, however, has consistently maintained that the planes had entered its sovereign territory.
Prosecutors allege that Raúl Castro, who held the position of Cuba's defence minister at the time, personally authorised the military action against the aircraft. He now faces conspiracy and murder-related charges as a result.
Cuba has forcefully rejected the allegations, denouncing the indictment as illegal and accusing Washington of using the charges as a vehicle for escalating political pressure against the island nation.
Despite the formal filing of charges, the prospect of a trial remains deeply uncertain. Castro is now 94 years old, and Cuba does not extradite its citizens to the United States, leaving the legal proceedings without a clear path to the courtroom.
