Florida issues arrest warrant for Cuba's Raúl Castro over 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown
The 95-year-old former Cuban leader is accused of murder over the downing of two civilian planes that killed four men from Miami 30 years ago. Cuba calls the warrant a 'senseless legal ploy'.
At a glance
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state arrest warrant for former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, on Monday, October 19, 2026.
- Castro is accused over the February 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes over international waters, which killed Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.
- A Miami-Dade judge signed the no-bond warrant; Castro already faces a federal murder charge announced in May.
- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called it a political move; Florida says the warrant would allow extradition if Castro is ever arrested abroad.
The US state of Florida has issued an arrest warrant for Raúl Castro, the 95-year-old former president of Cuba, accusing him of murder over the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes that killed four men from Miami. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the warrant on Monday, October 19, at Florida International University.
The warrant at a glance
| Accused | Raúl Castro, 95, former Cuban president and, in 1996, defence minister |
| Issued by | A Miami-Dade County judge, at the request of the Florida Attorney General |
| Accusation | Conspiracy to murder / first-degree murder |
| Bond | None |
| Related case | A federal murder charge announced by the US Justice Department in May 2026 |
| Victims | Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, Pablo Morales |
What happened in 1996
On February 24, 1996, Cuban MiG fighter jets shot down two small Cessna planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami group of Cuban-American pilots who searched the Florida Straits for rafters fleeing Cuba. The four men on board — three US citizens and one legal US resident — were killed over international waters. The shootdown caused a major crisis between Washington and Havana.
According to the warrant, Cuban spies who passed on flight information and watched the US naval air station in Key West provide probable cause that a conspiracy took place in Florida, and that Castro gave the orders.
What officials said
- Uthmeier: "It was not an accident, what happened. It was murder." He said Castro "ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood" and that the warrant matters to families who have waited too long for answers.
- US Attorney General Todd Blanche: "The United States and President Trump does not, and will not, forget its citizens."
- Miami-Dade Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis said the families had waited three decades and that "no regime, no border, and no number of years" would erase what happened.
- A victim's relative said: "Justice has happened. Not total, but it is some justice."
Cuba's response
Cuba's government condemned the warrant as a "senseless legal ploy". President Miguel Díaz-Canel called it a political move against Castro and against Cuba. Havana has always said the planes violated Cuban airspace, a claim rejected by international investigators at the time.
Can he be arrested?
In practice, almost certainly not while he stays in Cuba, which does not extradite its citizens to the United States. Florida officials said they will not go into Cuba to arrest him, but the warrant would allow extradition if he were detained in another country.
Why it matters
The warrant adds to pressure on Cuba from the Trump administration, which has tightened sanctions on the island. Critics noted the timing: it was announced on the first day of early voting in Florida, where Uthmeier is running for election and Cuban-American voters are an important constituency. His opponent, José Javier Rodriguez, asked: "What is the plan to arrest him?"
What happens next
The federal and state cases will proceed separately. With Castro in Cuba and aged 95, the cases are largely symbolic — but they keep the 30-year-old killings, and US–Cuba tensions, firmly in the spotlight.
Questions people are asking
Why does Florida want to arrest Raúl Castro?
Florida accuses him of a conspiracy to murder four men killed when Cuban fighter jets shot down two Brothers to the Rescue planes over international waters on February 24, 1996. Castro was then Cuba's defence minister.
Can Raúl Castro actually be arrested?
Only if he leaves Cuba and is detained in a country that agrees to hand him over. Florida officials say they will not go into Cuba; the warrant would allow extradition if he were arrested elsewhere.
What was Brothers to the Rescue?
A Miami-based group of Cuban-American pilots who flew over the Florida Straits looking for rafters fleeing Cuba. Two of its small civilian planes were shot down by Cuban MiG jets in 1996.
