U.S. authorities are preparing to bring criminal charges against 94-year-old Raúl Castro, former president of Cuba and brother of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, according to reports from major news outlets—including CBS News and Reuters—and statements by a U.S. Department of Justice official.
The 1996 Shootdown
The potential prosecution centers on the February 24, 1996, downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based anti-Castro exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The planes were shot down by Cuban Air Force jets while flying over international waters near the Cuban coast, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Cuban authorities in Havana maintained the planes had entered Cuban airspace illegally.
All four people aboard the two Cessna aircraft were killed—three of them U.S. citizens.
Allegations Against Raúl Castro
At the time of the incident, Raúl Castro served as Cuba’s Minister of Defense. According to Axios, several members of the U.S. Congress allege he personally ordered the shootdown. Multiple U.S. lawmakers have long called for his prosecution, citing his direct command responsibility.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis—a Republican—welcomed the development on X, calling the move “long overdue.”
Raúl Castro Today
Raúl Castro stepped down as Cuba’s president in 2018 and relinquished his post as First Secretary of the Communist Party in 2021, effectively retiring from formal office. He remains one of the last living figures from the original 1959 revolutionary leadership and continues to command deep respect across the island.
Though no longer in an official role, he is widely regarded as a key advisor to current Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and retains significant influence within the Cuban armed forces—an institution central to the country’s political structure.
U.S.–Cuba Relations Under Trump
U.S.–Cuban relations—already strained since the 1959 revolution—have deteriorated further since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025. Among his first actions, Trump reinstated Cuba on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism—a designation that triggers sweeping sanctions.
The announcement of possible charges against Raúl Castro coincided with a rare visit to Havana by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Accompanied by senior U.S. intelligence officials, Ratcliffe met with Cuban counterparts—including Ramón Romero Curbelo, head of the intelligence division at Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior. The CIA posted photos of the meetings on X but issued no statement or further details.
Cuba is currently grappling with a severe energy crisis, worsened by recent U.S. oil import restrictions—a pressure point increasingly central to bilateral tensions.