South Florida leaders, politicians react to Raúl Castro indictment: "The Cuban dictatorship must finally answer for its crimes"
The United States formally indicted former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others at an event in Miami on Wednesday afternoon, and South Florida leaders have been quick to react to the historic announcement.
"For far too long, previous administrations turned a blind eye to justice for the three American citizens and one lawful permanent resident who were brutally and unjustifiably murdered under the direct orders of Raúl Castro," Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart said in a statement. "Those four innocent men, flying defenseless in their Cessnas, never stood a chance when Castro ordered MiG fighter jets to ambush and kill them without warning."
Charges against Castro were based off a 1996 incident in which two planes that took off from Miami-area airport operated by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile group that searched for Cubans seeking to flee the island nation in rafts, were shot down by a Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet.
Díaz-Balart went on to call the incident a "deliberate act of murder" and said Castro needed to be held accountable for the crime.
"Today marks the beginning of that long‑denied path toward justice, made possible by the decisive actions of President (Donald) Trump and the resolve of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quińones."
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis also reacted to the news, saying justice was long ocverdue.
"Today, every communist regime thug, dictator, and oppressor around the world should understand something clearly: time does not erase murder, and the United States will not forget its victims," she said in a statement. "Justice for Raúl Castro is not just about the past. It is a warning to every enemy of freedom that accountability can find you no matter how long it takes and no matter where you hide."
Milian Orbis brought a Miami-Dade County resolution to formally express the county's strong support for bringing Castro to justice, and it received unanimous support.
"Justice has been delayed for decades. It is long overdue," she said. "This sends a clear message that Miami-Dade County stands for freedom and stands with the Cuban people, not their oppressors."
Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo
Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo said Wednesday's announcement "speaks directly to a deep wound in our community."
"If this moment is going to mean anything, it has to be understood as more than a legal move against Raúl Castro. The problem goes further than one individual. The problem is an entire structure of power in Cuba that has ruled through fear, censorship, and violence for more than six decades," Calvo said in a statement. "As long as that structure remains in place, there will be no real justice for Brothers to the Rescue and no real freedom for the Cuban people."
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she stood with the families of the victims of the Brothers to the Rescue plane shootdown and called the victims heroes.
"They flew unarmed, over open water, searching for Cuban refugees clinging to makeshift rafts in the Florida Straits, – men, women, and children risking their lives for the chance at freedom," she said in a statement. "The four men killed that February day died while carrying out an act of profound humanity. They deserved justice then. Their families deserve it now."
She also said that families who fled to the United States from Cuba never stopped seeking freedom.
"Miami-Dade is home to one of the largest Cuban exile communities in the world. Our neighbors, our colleagues, and our friends are among the hundreds of thousands who fled tyranny, built new lives here, and never stopped pursuing the freedom and dignity that was stripped from them and their families," she continued. "This community has known pain that most Americans cannot imagine: the pain of exile, of separation, and watching a homeland suffer under dictatorship for generations."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier
"On February 24, 1996, Raúl Castro and his criminal gang murdered Americans and our fellow Floridians," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. "Upon taking office in 2025, I directed our Statewide Prosecutors to reopen a previously closed case file on Raúl Castro. Working hand-in-hand with United States Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones and his team at the U.S. Attorney's Office, accountability starts here, in Florida, with this indictment."
He went on to say that the indictment announced on Wednesday will be prosecuted under the authority of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in partnership with the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Rep. Carlos A. Giménez
Rep. Carlos Giménez also released a statement offering reaction to the Raúl Castro's indictment and said "the Cuban dictatorship must finally answer for its crimes."
"The brutal shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue planes was not an accident or a misunderstanding – it was a cold-blooded act of murder carried out by the Castro regime against innocent Americans flying humanitarian missions," he said.
Giménez went on to say that, as a Cuban-born member of the United States Congress, this indictment was personal.
"The Castro regime is not simply a dictatorship – it is a criminal enterprise built on repression, bloodshed, political persecution, and terror. For generations, it has oppressed the Cuban people, destabilized our hemisphere, and threatened the national security interests of the United States."
Castro, 94, is the brother of longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Raúl Castro stepped down as the leader of Cuba's Communist Party in April 2021, but he is still widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in the county.