By Zoila Palma: Federal prosecutors in Florida have unsealed an indictment charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Florida-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, CBS reports.
The charges, announced last Wednesday during a press conference in Miami, accuse Castro and the others of involvement in the deaths of four people when Cuban military jets shot down the planes.
Castro, 94, was indicted in Miami on April 23 and faces one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Prosecutors allege that Castro, who served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident, authorized the use of deadly force against the Brothers to the Rescue flights. The indictment also charges five Cuban fighter pilots, including Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, who had previously been indicted over the incident in 2003.
The case centers on the February 1996 shootdown of two Cessna aircraft by a Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet. The planes, operated by Brothers to the Rescue, were searching for Cubans attempting to flee the island by raft.
Three U.S. citizens and one green-card holder were killed. According to the indictment and findings by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization, the aircraft were flying outside Cuban airspace when they were destroyed, although Cuba has consistently disputed that conclusion.
The post International News: Cuba’s Raúl Castro indicted in U.S. over 1996 shootdown of brothers to the rescue planes appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Federal prosecutors in Florida have unsealed an indictment charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Florida-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, CBS reports. The charges, announced last Wednesday during a press conference in Miami, accuse Castro
The post International News: Cuba’s Raúl Castro indicted in U.S. over 1996 shootdown of brothers to the rescue planes appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
