According to court documents released by the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on the 20th, a grand jury in the court has agreed to indict Cuban revolutionary leader Raúl and five others. This lawsuit is considered part of US measures to pressure Cuba.
US federal prosecutors accuse Raúl and others of involvement in the 1996 downing of aircraft belonging to Cuban exiles, alleging crimes including murder of four people and destruction of aircraft.
It is understood that in February 1996, the Cuban exile organization "Brothers to the Rescue," based in Florida, dispatched two planes that violated Cuban airspace. After repeated warnings were ignored, the Cuban Air Force shot down the planes, resulting in the deaths of four people.
At the time of the incident, Raúl was serving as Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
Raúl was born in 1931. He was elected as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party twice, in 2011 and 2016, and stepped down in April 2021. He is the younger brother of Fidel Castro.
Cuban President Criticizes: Entirely Politically Motivated
On the 20th, Cuban President Díaz-Canel stated on social media that the US cannot accept the unwavering stance of the Cuban revolution, nor the unity and strong spirit of Cuba's leadership. The so-called charges further expose the arrogance and frustration of the US side. This move is entirely politically motivated, lacks any legal basis, and serves only to add more material to the US-built case file—seeking an excuse for its absurd attempt to launch military aggression against Cuba.
Díaz-Canel said that regarding the 1996 incident in which Cuba shot down aircraft of the "Brothers to the Rescue" exile organization, the US has long fabricated lies and manipulated the narrative. At that time, Cuba was acting in lawful self-defense in its own territorial waters after repeated warnings went unheeded and its airspace had been repeatedly and seriously violated. In contrast, the US military has repeatedly carried out cold-blooded and open extrajudicial executions of civilian vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.