FL Secures Arrest Warrant For Cuban Leader Raúl Castro: FL Attorney General

Florida authorities have secured a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four men, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday.

The warrant, obtained by the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, charges Castro with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 24, 1996, incident involving planes operated by the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

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Castro, who was then Cuba's minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and first vice president, was a key decision-maker in the chain of command that authorized the attack, according to an affidavit cited by Florida officials.

The shootdown killed Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. The four men were aboard two unarmed Cessna aircraft that were destroyed by Cuban military jets over international waters, the affdavit said.

Investigators allege that Cuban intelligence agents operating in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue, collected flight plans and relayed information that supported the operation.

Uthmeier said he directed state prosecutors to reopen the investigation last year as Florida continued pursuing accountability for the killings.

"Raúl Castro ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood, and Florida will never stop pursuing accountability for that communist conspiracy," Uthmeier said in a statement. "The Castro regime's spies operated in our communities, fed intelligence to Havana, and helped put civilian pilots in the crosshairs of Cuban MiGs. Thirty years later, we are still fighting for justice for Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr."

The charge is a first-degree felony under Florida law, and the court ordered no bond. The warrant was signed by Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

The Office of Statewide Prosecution will oversee the case because elements of the conspiracy occurred in both Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, the attorney general's office said.

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