The Justice Department on Wednesday announced charges against Cuban dictator Raul Modesto Castro Ruz and five former jet pilots. The freshly unsealed April 23 indictment alleges involvement in shooting down two unarmed US civilian aircraft in February of 1996. The rescue aircraft were carried four US nationals, including three American citizens, who were part of the Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) organization, according to the indictment. Miami-based BTTR conducted humanitarian flights across the Florida Straits to rescue Cubans migrants, stranded or lost at sea, in flight from the communist-run island. BTTR’s flights also flew to support anti-Castro, pro-democracy movements in Cuba in the 1990s, the indictment says.
Cuban spies allegedly infiltrated BTTR and reported back to the Castro regime. The indictment alleges the organization planned to support pro-democracy demonstrations through flights to Cuba in February 1996, and the Cuban regime instructed its spies not to be on those flights. On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two of the three BTTR aircraft in international waters as they flew away from Cuba.
The indictment alleges five of the defendants were trained fighter jet pilots who flew for the Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), a ministry established to support the regime. All orders to kill, the indictment says, came through DAAFAR with Castro Ruz and Fidel Castro as the final decision makers.
The Castro Allegations
Castro Ruz and his five co-defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals. Castro Ruz and Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez are charged with two counts of destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder. Perez-Perez allegedly shot down both civilian aircraft seven minutes apart on February 24, 1996.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the indictments on Wednesday at the Freedom Tower in Miami, a historically meaningful place that became known for welcoming hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles:
“For nearly years – 30 years – the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice….This is a story all too familiar. On February 24, 1996, two civilian aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue were shot down over International Waters by military aircraft from Cuba. Four men were killed: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandro Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida Straits. As alleged in the indictment, Raúl Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those civilian planes and killing four Americans. Those are the allegations returned by a federal grand jury. My message today is clear. The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens.”
Rubio’s Message in Spanish
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a message in Spanish, speaking directly to the Cuban people:
“The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S. As you know, better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years.
“The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.”
Trump’s Timing
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the indictment:
“I think it was a very big moment for people that, not only Cuban Americans, but people that came from Cuba, that want to go back to Cuba, people that want to see their family in Cuba. I think this is a very big day, very important day…On a humanitarian basis we’re there to help.”
Castro Ruz’s indictment is reminiscent of the US indictment of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in January on narco-terrorism charges, which preceded the US military’s capture of him, notably, fighting off Cuban security. But the president denied an impending escalation.
“I don’t think there needs to be,” Trump said. “The place is falling apart. It’s a mess, and they’ve sort of lost control. They really lost control of Cuba.”
But he has been ramping up his pressure campaign on Cuba through expanding sanctions and teasing taking control of Cuba on the way back from Iran. Trump said he would soon be making an announcement about the embargo in place on Cuba. If there’s anything we’ve learned from President Trump’s recent military excursions, it’s that he reveals his plans in his timing.
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