Politics
Florida judge authorizes arrest warrant for Raúl Castro over 1996 plane attack
A Miami-Dade circuit judge signed a Florida arrest warrant for the former Cuban leader over the 1996 shooting down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes. The warrant adds a state-level case to a federal indictment announced in May; Florida officials planned to discuss the case Monday.
A Florida judge has signed a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over the 1996 downing of two planes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue, a case that has renewed legal scrutiny in South Florida nearly three decades later.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit signed the warrant, according to information reported Monday, Oct. 19. The warrant authorizes Castro’s arrest under the state case; it does not mean he has been taken into custody.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Monday at Florida International University to provide details about the state case. The information available before the briefing did not specify the state charges.
Castro, now 95, was Cuba’s defense minister when the two aircraft were shot down in 1996. The planes belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a group of Cuban exiles based in Miami. The United States indicted Castro in May, alleging his role in the attack.
That federal case also names five other defendants: Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, Emilio Jose Palacio Blanco, Jose Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raul Simanca Cardenas and Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez. The indictment includes four counts of murder, two counts of destruction of aircraft and a charge of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The state warrant marks a separate Florida legal action alongside the federal prosecution. Any effort to bring Castro, who lives outside the United States, before a Florida court would depend on his arrest and transfer to U.S. jurisdiction.