DOJ Announces Indictment of Raúl Castro over 1996 Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown
May 20, 2026 · The White House · 0:02:47
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What happened
A Justice Department official announced in Miami that an indictment charges Raúl Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. As the official stated it, Castro and the others are also charged with additional crimes, including destruction of aircraft and four individual counts of murder, and the indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in the district in Miami on April 23, 2026, and unsealed that day.
The official recounted that on February 24, 1996, two civilian aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue were shot down over international waters by Cuban military aircraft, killing four men — Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandra Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales — who, as he stated it, were unarmed civilians flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida Straits. As alleged in the indictment, Castro and five codefendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at the civilian planes.
The official said the families of the four murdered Americans have waited nearly 30 years for justice, and closed with a message he stated plainly: the United States and President Trump do not and will not forget their citizens.
Why it matters
The unsealing revives a three-decade-old case at the top of the U.S.-Cuba grievance list and puts a former Cuban head of state under a U.S. murder-conspiracy indictment — a major entry in the site’s justice chronicle.
Scoreboard watch
Flagged for the scoreboard editor: the indictment was returned April 23, 2026, and unsealed May 20, 2026, charging conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder, as stated by the Department of Justice; no verdict is given here.
Sources: The White House, “DOJ announces the indictment of Ra\u00fal Castro with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals”, Miami, Florida, 2026-05-20 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-05-20). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.