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US files criminal charges against former leader of Cubapublished at 22:21 BST 20 May
The US government has filed criminal charges against the former leader of Cuba Raúl Castro.
The indictment against Castro - and his five co-defendants - was made public earlier today.
Here is what we know:
- The charges - Castro and his five co-defendants have all been charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals. Castro and a single other co-defendant, Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, are charged with four counts of murder, one for each of the US nationals who died. Both men are also charged with two counts of destruction of aircraft.
- The incident in question - Cuban Air Force jets shot down two planes operated by US-based Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue on 24 February 1996. Four people - three US citizens and one Cuban national - died in the attack.
- The possible sentence - For Castro, the first count carries a maximum term of life in prison; counts two and three each include a maximum term of imprisonment of five years; charges four to seven carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
- Cuba's response - Current President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel claimed the charges are a "political" manoeuvre and says they are "devoid of any legal foundation". He said the US has "distorted events" surrounding the downing of the planes and accused Brothers to the Rescue of being a "narco-terrorist" group.
- Will Castro be arrested? Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche would not be drawn on whether the US would arrest and seize Castro in a similar way to how Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas earlier this year and brought the to the US to be jailed - The US has now targeted three current or former heads of state in recent months, writes our Washington correspondent Daniel Bush.
We are closing our live coverage now but you can read the full story here.
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Full indictment is now unsealedpublished at 20:54 BST
The indictment against Castro and five co-defendants has been unsealed, or made public, by the court.
The 27-page document recaps the allegations laid out by Blanche in his press conference today, but also includes specific charges against each person, images of individuals and aircraft, and historical context around the events that brought down two Brothers to the Rescue planes.
We now know that Castro and his five co-defendants have all been charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals.
Castro and a single co-defendant, Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, are charged with four counts of murder, one for each of the US nationals who died. Both men are also charged with two counts of destruction of aircraft. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called the charges a "political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation."
The indictment also includes a photo of a third Brothers to the Rescue plane that escaped.
It also includes a purported photo of one of the co-defendants, Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, in a MiG fighter jet, which was originally designed by the Soviet Union.
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Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles, a major escalation of pressure by the Trump administration on the socialist government. President Donald Trump has set a calamitous energy blockade on the island and has been threatening military action ever since U.S. forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters sued Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters — from receiving payouts from a new nearly $1.8 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions. The lawsuit’s filing comes a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, during his congressional testimony, wouldn’t rule out the possibility of fund payouts for rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6.
Also, Trumpscored another win Tuesday against a Republican rival, dislodging Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s primary and knocking out one of his most outspoken critics on Capitol Hill. Massie has been a particularly difficult thorn in Trump’s side, pushing for the release of the Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year.
The U.S. government will permanently drop tax claims against Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct. As part of the settlement deal, the U.S. is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations.
Here’s the latest:
Top Communist Party leader praises Raúl Castro, says Cubans will defend his legacy ‘at any cost’
Roberto Morales Ojeda, a senior Communist Party leader, praised Army Gen. Raúl Castro on Wednesday, saying he “embodies the most genuine essence of the Cuban Revolution thanks to his ability to lead with modesty and personal example. His career has been an uninterrupted lesson in loyalty to Cuba and Fidel.”
He also said Raúl Castro has cultivated “an exceptional human sensitivity” and the ability to examine the “revolutionary endeavor,” rectify errors and open spaces for dialogue.
“For all these reasons, the Cuban people are absolutely certain that they will defend Raúl’s physical and ethical integrity and his legacy at any cost,” Morales Ojeda wrote on X. “Defending his legacy means embracing the continuity of the Revolution, updating the economic model without losing its socialist essence, training new generations, and the fundamental lesson: that one can be a revolutionary with firmness, constructive criticism, and unwavering loyalty to the people.”
In Miami, one Cuban American expresses approval of Castro’s indictment
Peter Hernandez, whose family owns Los Pinareños Fruteria in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, said it’s about time for the U.S. to do something about Castro.
“The piracy in that country, Cuba, it has been going on for a very long time,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez, whose parents moved from Cuba to South Florida before he was born, said he doesn’t have a problem with the U.S. sending its military to arrest Castro.
“He’s a criminal,” Hernandez said. ”I think we should do that with all criminals, especially if they’re hiding behind a country that consistently has been proven that they are on the wrong side of our national security efforts and ideology.”
Cuban president condemns Castro indictment
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment of Raúl Castro and accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating the events of 1996. He called it “a political action without any legal basis” that only seeks to “bolster the case they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”
Díaz-Canel wrote on X that Cuba acted in “legitimate self-defense within its territorial waters after repeated and dangerous violations of its airspace by notorious terrorists.”
He said U.S. officials at the time had been warned about the violations but allowed them to continue.
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. After ousting Maduro, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
The US has also accused Cuban military pilots of downing the planes
Lt. Col. Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez of Las Tunas is among the Cuban military pilots accused of downing the civilian planes in 1996.
The others include José Fidel Gual Barzaga and Lt. Col. Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, whom the U.S. indicted in November 2025 on charges including fraud and misuse of visa and permits.
At the time, former U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said: “This man’s past as a longtime military pilot for the evil Castro regime — which has wrought untold suffering on the Cuban people — should have been front and center in his immigration file.”
González-Pardo Rodríguez was accused in part of falsely claiming he had never received any weapons or military training on an application to register for permanent residence or adjust status.
The others accused are Emilio José Palacio Blanco and Raul Simance Cárdenas.
The penalties in the indictment against Castro
The murder and conspiracy charges Castro is facing carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison upon conviction. However, it is unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom.
Castro is charged alongside five other defendants. One of them, Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, is in U.S. custody awaiting sentencing later this month in a case alleging he made false statements in an immigration document, according to the Justice Department.
Sen. Moody applauds Trump administration’s ‘accountability’ in Castro charges
Speaking at Wednesday’s event, Sen. Ashley Moody decried what she described as previous administrations’ relaxed attitudes toward Cuba, including moves to “relax our banking restrictions” or “coddle them into freedom.”
But with actions like the Castro indictment, the Florida Republican said the Trump administration is taking “the bold step of actually bringing accountability.”
Trump tells Coast Guard graduates they will ‘be tested’ in their military careers
President Donald Trump has returned to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to give the commencement address at the Connecticut school.
He told cadets on Wednesday that they show “unbelievable heroism and exceptional selflessness” but will “be tested further” as they embark on their military careers.
Trump’s remarks to the class of 2026 were the first time he has given a commencement speech at one of the nation’s military academies after sending U.S. troops to fight the war with Iran. Trump also spoke at the academy’s graduation in 2017 during his first term.
During his address, Trump quickly touched on the war with Iran, now in its 12th week, as a sign of U.S. success from “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
“The only question is, do we go ahead and finish it up or are they going to be signing a document? Let’s see what happens,” Trump said.
Trump referenced ‘shores of Havana’ in remarks earlier Wednesday
He did not directly address Raúl Castro or any potential indictment, but Trump mentioned Cuba earlier Wednesday in a commencement address.
“From the Gulf of America to the frozen waters of the Arctic, from the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment, just like we’ve been doing,” Trump said to graduates at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.
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