WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruz, charging the 94-year-old retired Army general and several former Cuban military officials for their alleged connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.  Four men were killed in the incident.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the indictment at Miami’s Freedom Tower, a historic site associated with Cuban migration to the United States.

Federal prosecutors allege that Raúl Castro, who served as head of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time, ordered the destruction of the aircraft.

The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder. The legal action comes more than 30 years after the Feb. 24, 1996, incident.

Raúl Castro is the younger brother of freedom fighter and revolutionary, Comandante Fidel Castro, whom the U.S. targeted for decades.

The charges against the younger Castro may be largely symbolic unless Cuba agrees to extradite him, which remains highly unlikely. Cuba has historically refused U.S. extradition requests involving political matters.

However, in 2020, former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was charged with drug offenses, an accusation Mr. Maduro denied. However, in January of this year, U.S. forces kidnapped and captured Mr. Maduro and his wife and transported them to New York for trial.

Delcy Rodríguez is now serving as the Acting President of Venezuela. During the military operation, a reported 32 Cubans, primarily members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, were killed. Venezuela and Cuba have been longtime allies.

The indictment of Raúl Castro quickly drew sharp criticism from Havana, which denounced the move as “an infamous act of political provocation” and rejected U.S. jurisdiction over Cuban officials.

In a statement posted on X by the Cuban Embassy in Washington, the Cuban government defended the 1996 action as “an act of legitimate self-defense.”  Cuban officials argued that the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft repeatedly violated Cuban airspace despite repeated diplomatic protests lodged with the U.S. between 1994 and 1996.

“The inaction of the U.S. government in the face of the warnings issued by Cuba at the time revealed its complicity,” the statement said.

The indictment has also sparked criticism inside the United States. Rep. Gregory Meeks, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, while expressing criticism of Mr. Castro, warned that the indictment appeared “less like a pursuit of justice and more like a pretext for escalation.”

Rep. Meeks criticized the Trump administration’s tightening of sanctions and pressure campaign against Cuba, arguing that additional punitive measures would worsen humanitarian suffering on the island rather than produce democratic reforms.

The indictment has also reopened debate about Washington’s historical relationship with anti-Castro militant groups. A commentary published by Belly of the Beast Cuba argued that the U.S. has long applied a “double standard” regarding terrorism connected to Cuba.

The article referenced anti-Castro exile figures linked to violent attacks against Cuba, including the 1976 bombing of Cubana Flight 455 that killed 73 people.

International reaction to the recent indictment expanded on May 21 when China publicly condemned Washington’s actions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun accused the U.S. of “abusing judicial means”

And using sanctions and legal pressure as tools against Cuba. Beijing called on Washington to end what it described as coercive policies and threats toward the island nation.  

China’s criticism comes amid growing global opposition to the Trump administration’s intensified sanctions regime against Cuba. Earlier this month, Beijing described expanded U.S. sanctions as “illegal” and said the measures violated international norms and Cuba’s right to development.  

Russia also expressed support for Havana following the indictment. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Washington of “gross interference” in Cuba’s internal affairs and pledged continued support for the Cuban people amid mounting U.S. pressure.  

The case referenced in the indictment revives one of the most contentious episodes in modern U.S.-Cuba relations. Brothers to the Rescue, founded by Cuban exiles in Miami, initially conducted search-and-rescue missions for migrants at sea but later carried out provocative flights over Havana, including leaflet drops critical of the Cuban government.

On Feb. 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two Cessna aircraft operated by the group. Cuba maintained the planes had violated its airspace, while the U.S. said the aircraft were in international airspace when they were destroyed.

Asked whether the United States expected Castro to face trial in a U.S. courtroom, A.G. Blanche declined to discuss possible extradition strategies but insisted the case was not merely symbolic.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the charges as “illegitimate and illegal,” while repeating Cuba’s longstanding characterization of Brothers to the Rescue as a hostile organization engaged in actions against Cuban sovereignty.

The same day the indictment was announced, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, posted a message in Spanish on X criticizing Cuba’s leadership and blaming the country’s economic hardships on government corruption and mismanagement rather than U.S. sanctions, which have been widely condemned as unjust.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, responded on social media, accusing U.S. officials of deliberately misleading the public about the impact of decades-long U.S. economic pressure on Cuba.

The U.S. has targeted and worked to dismantle the Cuban government and the spirit of the revolution started by Fidel Castro for decades. The U.S. government—through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—made numerous attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro over the years.

Cuba closed its official response by reaffirming support for Mr. Castro, stating: “The Cuban people reaffirm their unrestricted and unwavering support for Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.”

Final Call staff contributed to this report.