TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that state authorities have obtained an arrest warrant for former Cuban President Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four members of the Miami-based humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue.
The warrant charges Castro, 95, with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, a first-degree felony under Florida law. A Miami-Dade County judge ordered that Castro be held without bond if arrested.
The warrant was secured through a joint investigation by the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Uthmeier directed state prosecutors to reopen the investigation in 2025.
The charges stem from the February 24, 1996, deaths of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr., who were aboard two unarmed Cessna aircraft shot down by Cuban fighter jets over international waters.
“Raúl Castro ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood, and Florida will never stop pursuing accountability for that communist conspiracy,” Uthmeier said.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Castro, who was serving as Cuba’s minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and first vice president at the time, played a central role in authorizing the military operation.
Investigators allege Castro instructed senior Cuban military leaders to shoot down the aircraft without seeking additional authorization.
The affidavit also describes the involvement of Cuban intelligence operatives associated with the Wasp Network, a spy organization that operated in South Florida.
Authorities allege intelligence agents infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and gathered information about the organization’s flight plans. That intelligence allegedly supported a Cuban military operation known as Operation Scorpion.
On the day of the incident, three civilian aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. Two were subsequently destroyed by Cuban MiG fighter jets using air-to-air missiles.
According to Florida investigators, the aircraft were outside Cuban territorial waters, traveling away from Cuba and had received no warning before being attacked.
State prosecutors maintain that portions of the alleged conspiracy occurred in both Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, including intelligence gathering and the transmission of flight information to Cuban authorities. Those activities provide the basis for the Office of Statewide Prosecution’s jurisdiction in the case.
The latest state charges follow a federal indictment announced earlier this year involving Castro’s alleged role in the same incident.
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said federal and state authorities are working together to pursue accountability.
“Our historic federal indictment laid the groundwork, and James and his team have now taken the important step of bringing charges under Florida law,” Quiñones said.
FDLE Special Agent in Charge Michael Stein said the agency’s involvement demonstrates the state’s commitment to investigating serious crimes regardless of how much time has passed.
“FDLE assuming the lead investigative role on this case reflects one of our state’s core approaches to public safety: that the passage of time does not diminish the pursuit of justice,” Stein said.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz also praised the development, citing the decades-long efforts of victims’ families and South Florida’s Cuban American community to seek justice.
The warrant was signed by Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
Although Florida authorities have obtained an arrest warrant, Castro remains outside U.S. custody, and it is unclear whether he will ever be extradited to face prosecution. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has characterized the charges as politically motivated.
State officials said the investigation remains active and additional charges are possible.
Castro has not been convicted in connection with the 1996 incident, and the allegations in the state warrant remain subject to adjudication.
