It’s an indictment that could doom any lingering chance of a deal to avoid armed conflict between the United States and Cuba. The federal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro regarding the downing of a civilian plane in 1996 fired up the Cuban exile community in Miami,

Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in connection with the Cuban military's fatal downing of two planes in 1996 — an escalation in the U.S. pressure campaign against the Cuban government.

The Justice Department indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro on Wednesday in connection to the 1996 shooting of two civilian planes that killed four Cuban Americans.

Raúl Castro is 94 and no longer holds any official title, but he still wields enormous power, experts say, particularly over the military.

Raúl Castro, the brother of Cuba's longtime dictator Fidel Castro, stepped down as the leader of Cuba's Communist Party in 2021.

In a social media post in Spanish today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, born to Cuban American parents, said that the U.S. is ready to open a new chapter in relations with Cuba, but the only thing standing in the way are those who control the country — the regime.

The exact charges may be announced soon, as the Trump Administration escalates pressure on yet another foreign government.

Four died, their bodies never found after 1996 shootdown; US weighs charges against Raúl Castro