Florida Issues No-Bond Warrant for 95-Year-Old Raúl Castro in 1996 Shootdown Case
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 19
Florida Issues No-Bond Warrant for 95-Year-Old Raúl Castro in 1996 Shootdown Case
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 19
Summary
Miami-Dade County issued a no-bond arrest warrant for Raúl Castro, finding probable cause he conspired to commit first-degree murder in the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes.
Four American pilots — Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. — were killed when the unarmed civilian aircraft were shot down over the Florida Straits.
The warrant says investigators traced the alleged plan through Cuba’s chain of command to Raúl and Fidel Castro, citing a recorded statement in which Raúl described ordering aircraft to be shot down at sea.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier reopened the state investigation after taking office, and his statewide prosecutors will now handle the multi-circuit conspiracy case alongside a separate federal prosecution already pending.
Florida is seeking full extradition if Castro is arrested outside the state, while Cuba has long argued the group violated its airspace and that the 1996 attack defended national sovereignty.