Florida has a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. It charges him with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, which killed four men.
Fox News Digital obtained the no-bond warrant and reported it late Sunday. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Gov. Ron DeSantis are expected to announce it at a news conference Monday morning, Fox reported.
What the warrant says
- The charge: One count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, with no bond. A judge in Miami-Dade County found probable cause, according to the warrant as reported by Fox.
- The order: It tells law enforcement to arrest Castro, now 95, right away. If he is arrested in another state, Florida will seek to bring him back to face the charge.
- Who prosecutes: The attorney general’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will handle the case.
“The investigation revealed evidence of a conspiracy to kill persons aboard BTTR aircraft,” the warrant reads, using the group’s initials. It names the four men who died: Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr.
The warrant alleges the plan moved up the chain of command of Cuba’s foreign intelligence service, with Raúl Castro and his late brother, Fidel Castro, making the final decision. It also quotes a recorded statement Raúl Castro made months after the attack about orders he gave to his generals.
The 1996 shootdown
On Feb. 24, 1996, three unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes left Opa-locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. The Miami group flew over the Florida Straits looking for Cuban migrants lost at sea.
Cuban MiG fighter jets fired missiles at two of the Cessnas and destroyed them over international waters, according to federal and state prosecutors. The four men killed were U.S. nationals, and three were U.S. citizens. The third plane got away.
The federal case
- May indictment: The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a superseding indictment May 20 charging Castro and five other Cuban defendants over the shootdown.
- Federal charges: Conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder.
- Florida’s role: Uthmeier said he told state prosecutors to reopen a closed case file on Castro after he took office in 2025. The Justice Department thanked his office for its help.
Castro lives in Cuba. The Cuban government has rejected the U.S. case and says the group’s planes repeatedly violated Cuban airspace, Fox reported.
Sources: Fox News Digital; U.S. Department of Justice release, May 20, 2026; Florida Office of the Attorney General release.
