US plans criminal indictment of Raúl Castro over 1996 plane shootdown

The US Justice Department is preparing to indict Raúl Castro over the 1996 downing of two civilian planes that killed four people.

Unnamed department officials told US media the charges could be filed as soon as next Wednesday. The indictment would require approval by a federal grand jury.

Castro, 94, stepped down as head of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021. He led the country for 15 years after his brother Fidel resigned.

The charges center on the February 24, 1996, attack on two planes flown by the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The planes were shot down while searching for migrants crossing the Florida Straits. The Cuban government said the aircraft had violated its airspace, but an international aviation panel found the incident occurred over international waters.

President Donald Trump declined to comment on the reported indictment when asked Friday aboard Air Force One. He said Cubans need help and described the country as in decline.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the possible charges long overdue. Florida's attorney general reopened a state investigation into Castro's role in the incident earlier this year.

Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, said Friday that the country would continue on its path of socialist development despite US sanctions and threats.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to confirm the reports. He told Fox News that the department would speak when appropriate.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met his Cuban counterpart in Havana on Thursday. Raúl Rodríguez Castro, grandson of the former leader, also attended. A Cuban statement said the talks aimed to improve dialogue and that Havana posed no threat to US security.

The reported indictment is part of a broader US pressure campaign that includes an oil blockade and sanctions. Trump has said the United States wants to change Cuba's communist leadership.