Raul Castro could face charges over 1996 plane shootdown

Former Cuban leader Raul Castro could face indictment over the 1996 shooting down of two civilian planes belonging to the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue, an incident that killed three Americans and one US resident and sharply worsened relations between Washington and Havana.

Sources told CNN that US federal prosecutors are considering charges against Castro, who served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident. The US Department of Justice is expected to make an announcement in Miami during a ceremony honoring the victims, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

The planes were shot down on February 24, 1996, during a mission by Brothers to the Rescue, a volunteer group that searched for Cubans attempting to reach the United States by sea. According to US officials, the unarmed aircraft were destroyed by Cuban forces using heat-seeking missiles near the Cuban coast.

Cuba accused the group of carrying out covert operations against the government, while the United States rejected the allegations and said the volunteers posed no threat. Cuba’s embassy in Washington said the flights were part of repeated violations of Cuban airspace and described them as a “continuous campaign” that endangered aviation safety.

The incident led then-US President Bill Clinton to sign the Helms-Burton Act, which tightened sanctions against Cuba and became the foundation of the longstanding US embargo still in place today.

Brothers to the Rescue was founded in 1991 by Cuban exile Jose Basulto and described itself as a humanitarian and pro-democracy organization. The group also carried out leaflet drops over Cuba criticizing Fidel Castro’s government.

The issue remains deeply divisive among Cuban-Americans and within Cuba itself. Republican lawmakers in the United States have continued to push for legal action against Raul Castro, while some Cubans defend the government’s actions as necessary to protect national security.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova