Florida prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the 1996 military shootdown of two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue.
The criminal charge stems from the deaths of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr. on February 24, 1996. According to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, three unarmed Cessna aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County that afternoon. As the planes traveled southbound past the 24th parallel, Cuban MiG fighter jets intercepted the formation and destroyed two of the aircraft using air-to-air missiles.
Investigators allege that Castro, who served as Cuba’s Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President at the time of the incident, held final decision-making authority within the military chain of command that sanctioned the attack.
State prosecutors stated that covert intelligence agents operating under Cuba’s “Wasp Network” (Red Avispa) in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties infiltrated the Brothers to the Rescue organization. These intelligence operatives allegedly gathered and transmitted real-time flight details back to Havana in support of a coordinated counter-operation designated “Operación Escorpión” (Operation Scorpion).
Castro faces one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, categorized under Florida law as a first-degree felony. Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit signed the arrest warrant, issuing an order for detention without bond.
Because the espionage, surveillance, and information gathering took place across multiple county jurisdictions—specifically Miami-Dade and Monroe counties—the case is being brought as a multi-circuit conspiracy handled by the Office of Statewide Prosecution under Attorney General James Uthmeier.
State authorities emphasized that the criminal investigation remains active and that additional charges against other individuals may be filed as the case progresses.
