Miami judge issues arrest warrant for Raúl Castro — Anadolu Agency
A judge in Miami, United States, has issued an arrest warrant for 95-year-old former Cuban President Raúl Castro in a case concerning the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes. Four people were killed, including three U.S. citizens, Anadolu Agency reports.
Suspicion of conspiracy
According to court documents, the warrant was signed on Friday following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The warrant states that Castro is suspected of conspiring with Cuban intelligence agents to commit first-degree murder.
The affidavit states that Florida has jurisdiction over the case because two alleged Cuban spies, according to investigators, infiltrated the Brothers to the Rescue organization in Miami and Key West and provided Cuban authorities with information about flights before the incident.
According to the document, the network ordered its informants not to fly with the group between February 24 and 27, 1996. One of them left Florida on February 23 and returned to Cuba, one day before the planes were shot down.
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Shootdown of the planes
On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two small aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue. It is a non-profit organization of Cuban emigrants from Florida known for its opposition to the Cuban government. All four people aboard were killed.
Cuba stated that the planes were in its airspace and described its actions as self-defense. The United States said the aircraft were over international waters. This position was subsequently supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which concluded that the incident occurred outside Cuban airspace.
This is the second arrest warrant for Castro in this case. In March, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state-level criminal investigation. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice also charged Castro with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. At the time of the incident, Castro headed Cuba's armed forces.
