The Department of Justice unsealed a superseding indictment on May 21, 2026, charging former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 94, and five co-defendants with their alleged roles in the February 24, 1996, shoot-down of two unarmed U.S. civilian aircraft over international waters [1]. The charges include conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder [1]. Four U.S. nationals died in the attack: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all pilots operating under the Brothers to the Rescue humanitarian organization [1].
The indictment was filed under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche [1]. Brothers to the Rescue was a Miami-based nonprofit that flew civilian aircraft to locate Cuban refugees attempting to cross the Florida Straits by raft [1]. On the day of the shoot-down, Cuban MiG military jets intercepted and destroyed the two Cessna aircraft after they entered airspace that Cuban authorities disputed [1]. The United States maintained the planes were over international waters at the time of the attack, a position consistent with findings by the International Civil Aviation Organization [1]. The superseding indictment names co-defendant Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez alongside four additional Cuban military figures [1].
Federal prosecutors brought the charges under statutes covering the murder of U.S. nationals abroad and the destruction of aircraft, jurisdictional hooks that allow U.S. courts to reach conduct occurring outside American territory when American citizens are the victims [1]. The case represents the first time senior Cuban regime leadership has faced criminal charges in a U.S. court for alleged acts of violence causing American deaths [1]. The original indictment in this matter was filed under seal; the superseding instrument expands the charging framework and adds defendants [1].
The practical obstacles to prosecution are significant. Castro remains in Cuba, and no extradition treaty exists between the United States and Cuba [1]. The indictment functions simultaneously as a legal instrument and a public record establishing the U.S. government's formal account of the incident. The Justice Department has not indicated whether it expects any defendant to appear voluntarily or whether it is pursuing asset-blocking or travel-restriction mechanisms as collateral pressure. The unsealing follows a broader pattern of the current DOJ filing accountability charges in cases involving state-sponsored violence against U.S. nationals, even where near-term enforcement is improbable.