U.S. Justice Department Files Criminal Charges Against Former Cuban Leader Raúl Castro
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of civilian aircraft belonging to a Cuban exile organization, an incident that killed four people, including U.S. citizens.
According to Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the 94-year-old former Cuban president and brother of late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has been charged with conspiracy related to the killing of American citizens, murder, and destruction of aircraft.
The case is tied to the long-disputed 1996 incident in which aircraft operated by the exile group “Brothers to the Rescue” were shot down near Cuban airspace, triggering decades of tension between Washington and Havana.
The move is expected to sharply increase diplomatic tensions between the United States and Cuba, as the case remains one of the most politically sensitive events in modern U.S.-Cuba relations.