The US indicts Raúl Castro of Cuba on charges of murder and conspiracy to shoot down the planes in 1996.

Washington – Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others have been indicted by a US judge in Florida in connection with the deaths of Cuban soldiers who shot down two planes 30 years ago, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Criminal charges against Castro, 94, the brother of the late Fidel Castro, who is seen as one of Cuba's leaders. powerful statistics – note the expansion of the Trump administration pressure campaign against the Cuban government. Castro served as president of Cuba from 2008 to 2018 and was the top official of the country's Communist Party from 2011 to 2021.

CBS News was first reporting that the US was preparing to impeach Castro.

Castro was charged in Miami on April 23 with conspiracy to kill Americans, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying aircraft, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The other five defendants reported were identified as Cuban military pilots, including the pilot charged in the initial 1996 shooting incident more than two decades ago.

“For nearly 30 years, the families of the four murdered Americans have been waiting for justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a press conference in Miami on Wednesday. “My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump do not forget themselves and will not forget their citizens.”

It is not yet clear whether Castro will ever stand trial as Cuba does not extradite people to the United States. Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was indicted on drug charges in 2020. Earlier this year, captured by US forces and flew to New York to go to trial, a daring operation that led to the installation of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who is now working closely with the US.

The planes of the Rescue brothers were shot down

The charges against Castro centered on a 1996 incident in which a Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet shot down two Cessnas used by Brothers to the Rescue, an exiled team searching for Cubans who wanted to escape the island nation on rafts. Four people on board the planes died, including three US citizens and one green card holder.

The United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization, found that the planes were flying outside Cuban airspace when they were shot down, which Cuba denies. The organization also said that the Cuban authorities did not make any efforts to deal with the planes by other means, including communicating with them by radio or removing them from the area.

The shooting was met with outrage. The Organization of American States says Cuba has violated international law, and then-President Bill Clinton condemned it in “strong terms.” Congress responded by tightening US sanctions on Cuba.

The Cuban government has denied wrongdoing, saying the planes entered Cuban airspace. Cuba has accused members of Brothers to the Rescue of repeatedly violating Cuban airspace to drop leaflets, saying the group planned to destroy Cuban infrastructure.

On Tuesday night, Cuba's top diplomat Lianys Torres Rivera posted on social media a link to declassified FAA records from 1996 in which US officials saw “a worst-case scenario that one of these days the Cubans are going to shoot down one of these planes and the FAA better have all its ducks in a row.”

At the time of the shooting, Raúl Castro was the country's defense minister. In a 1996 interview with CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, then-Cuba President Fidel Castro admitted that he issued “routine orders” to stop planes from entering the country.

In recent months, Florida political figures have urged the Justice Department to consider charging Raúl Castro with causing the shooting down of the planes.

Decades ago, one person was convicted in the US of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the shooting, after federal prosecutors said he was part of a spy ring that wanted to pass information about Brothers to the Rescue to the Cuban intelligence service. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was sent to Cuba in a prisoner exchange in 2014.

The head of the Cuban Air Force and two airline pilots were also charged in connection with the 2003 incident.

What's next for Cuba-US relations?

Now, with the indictment of Raúl Castro, prosecutors are charging the man who has held the highest positions in Cuba since his brother Fidel overthrew the US-backed leader in 1959. Raúl succeeded his brother as head of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2011. He stepped down as the leader of the group ten years later – but he is still known as his grandson, but he is still known as “his grandson” an important point of contact with US officials.

The case comes after months of tensions between the United States and Cuba. The Trump administration has threatened higher tariffs against any country that exports oil to Cuba, leading to widespread power outages and the failure of the island's power grids.

At the time, the US attorney in Miami launched the program earlier this year looking to prosecute Cuban leaders, including economic, drug, immigration and violence crimes.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Cuba needs to make drastic economic and political changes, and suggested the current Cuban regime – which he says is led by “jobless, old men” – needs to change. Hours after Maduro's capture, Rubio expressed Cuba's confidence in Venezuela and told reporters: “If I lived in Havana and was still in government, I would be worried, at least a little.”

In a video message posted online Wednesday morning, Rubio appealed to the Cuban people choosing a “new way.” Meanwhile, Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos F. de Cossio wrote on social media Wednesday that Rubio is “lying” about Cuba because he “knows very well that there is no reason for such a brutal and cruel attack.”

President Trump he did not make a decision military action, saying at various points that he is interested in a “friendly takeover” of Cuba and that the country could be “next” after the US war with Iran. Mr. Trump also suggested that he is open to negotiations.

“Cuba is asking for help, let's talk!!!” wrote on the Truth Social blog last week

Despite the differences, US officials have visited Havana for talks at least twice this year, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe meeting the grandson of Raúl Castro last week. Managers and is offered separately Cuba $ 100 million in humanitarian aid.

The CIA official said Ratcliffe told Cuban leaders that the Trump administration offered a “real opportunity for cooperation” and a chance to stabilize Cuba's struggling economy. But Ratcliffe warned, the official added, that the opportunity would not remain open forever and the administration would enforce “red lines” if necessary.