Castro, now aged 94, is charged with one count of \u200cconspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft, according to US court records that were unsealed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
![\"Raul](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skynews-raul-castro-havana_7254269.jpg?20260520192458\")
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Five other people are also named as defendants in the case, including three Cuban military pilots.<\/p>\n
Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche told reporters in\u00a0Florida<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday that he expected Raul Castro \u200bto \u200cappear in the \u200bcountry “by his own will or \u200bby \u2060another way”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But he did not elaborate on whether that meant the US would pursue\u00a0a similar military operation<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that led to the capture of Venezuela’s\u00a0President<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Cuban government has argued the fatal military strike in 1996 was a legitimate response to the planes intruding on Cuban airspace, and Raul Castro – then defence minister – did not give a specific order to shoot the planes.<\/p>\n In response to the charges, Cuba’s President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel said the US “lies and distorts the events surrounding the downing of the planes” and described the charges as a “political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation”.<\/p>\n He defended the Cuban military’s actions in 1996 in a statement on X, saying they “acted in legitimate self-defence within its jurisdictional waters, following repeated and dangerous violations of our airspace by notorious terrorists”.<\/p>\n On Wednesday,\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a><\/strong>, who has been pushing for regime change, called Cuba a “failing nation” but declined to elaborate on potential next steps, despite repeatedly threatening military action.<\/p>\n Ever since US forces captured Maduro, an ally of Cuba, the US president has imposed a blockade that has\u00a0prevented fuel shipments to Cuba<\/a><\/strong>, leading to\u00a0severe blackouts<\/a><\/strong>, food shortages and economic hardships.<\/p>\n What is Brothers to the Rescue?<\/strong><\/p>\n Brothers to the Rescue, which describes itself as a humanitarian organisation, began operating in 1991 in response to thousands of Cubans emigrating to the US by boat. The group aimed to help Cuban refugees in the Florida straits by dropping supplies from small planes and alerting the US Coast Guard.<\/p>\n The crisis intensified in 1994 during instability and rioting in the country, which prompted Cuba’s President Fidel Castro to change the migration rules and allow anyone to leave the country – sparking the so-called ‘rafter crisis’.<\/p>\n But to discourage dangerous crossings, the then-US President Bill Clinton changed immigration rules to in a bid to prevent Cubans from heading north on rickety, makeshift boats.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Brothers to the Rescue, which is also known by its Spanish name Hermanos al Rescate, continued flying towards Cuban airspace and provoking Havana.<\/p>\n On 24 February 1996, three planes carrying members of Brothers to the Rescue entered an area which was a short distance north of Cuba’s capital.<\/p>\n Cuban fighter planes shot down two of the unarmed civilian Cessna jets, killing all four men aboard. A third plane, carrying the organisation’s leader, narrowly escaped.<\/p>\n What was the response?<\/strong><\/p>\n Fidel Castro, Cuba’s then-president, said after the incident that \u200che gave general orders to stop the flights but did not specifically direct them to be shot down.<\/p>\n Castro said the military acted on “standing orders” and that his brother Raul, who at the time oversaw the nation’s security services as defence minister, also did not \u2060give a specific order to shoot the planes.<\/p>\n When the two aircraft were shot down, the US condemned the attack and imposed sanctions, including the suspension of charter flights, but did not pursue criminal charges against either Castro brother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Justice Department instead charged three \u2060Cuban military officers in 2003, but they were never extradited.<\/p>\n The International Civil Aviation Organisation later concluded the attack happened over \u200binternational waters.<\/p>\n Who is Raul Castro?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u200cBorn in 1931, Castro was a key leader alongside his older brother Fidel in the \u200bguerrilla war that launched the country’s communist revolution.<\/p>\n Castro served as his brother’s defence minister \u200bfor decades, and began a political ascent when Fidel fell ill in 2006, serving as acting president and then formally becoming president \u200cin 2008.<\/p>\n Following Fidel’s death in 2016, Castro remained the country’s dominant political figure until 2018. After stepping down, \u2060he retained the honorific title of “army general” and continued \u200bto wield significant influence within Cuba.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Todd](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skynews-todd-blanche-attorney-general_7254296.png?20260520195354\")
<\/div>![\"A](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skynews-hermanos-al-rescate_7254297.png?20260520195659\")
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<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"