Florida Attorney General Announces No-Bond Warrant for Raúl Castro in 1996 Plane Shootdown

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that a Miami-Dade judge has signed a state arrest warrant charging former Cuban leader Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the February 24, 1996, shootdown of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue aircraft.

The warrant, signed Friday by Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, charges one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder under Florida law. No bond was ordered. Uthmeier said Castro, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President, was a final decision-maker who authorized the attack. “Raúl Castro ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood,” Uthmeier stated.

On February 24, 1996, three civilian Cessna aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport. After they crossed the 24th parallel—well outside Cuban territorial waters—Cuban MiG fighters destroyed two of the planes with air-to-air missiles. The four people killed were Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr. U.S. and United Nations investigations concluded the shootdown occurred over international waters.

The affidavit alleges that Cuban intelligence agents operating in Miami and the Florida Keys as part of the Wasp Network infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue, reported flight plans, and provided intelligence that enabled the attack. A federal indictment unsealed in May 2026 already charged Castro with murder and related counts. The state warrant adds a Florida prosecution and is expected to restrict Castro’s ability to travel to countries with extradition agreements with the United States.

Uthmeier directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to reopen the investigation after taking office. Castro, now 95, has not been extradited and remains in Cuba. The charges are allegations; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.