Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro faces new arrest warrant for Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, officials announce

A new arrest warrant has been issued for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro for his alleged role in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced in Miami on Monday.

He's accused of first-degree murder.

The announcement was made alongside other state and local officials at Florida International University in Miami.

"Raúl Castro ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood, and Florida will never stop pursuing accountability for that communist conspiracy," Uthmeier said in a statement. "The Castro regime's spies operated in our communities, fed intelligence to Havana, and helped put civilian pilots in the crosshairs of Cuban MiGs. Thirty years later, we are still fighting for justice for Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr."

The case centers around the shootdown of two civilian rescue group airplanes in 1996. Three U.S. citizens and a legal resident were killed.

Castro is accused of agreeing to the killing of those onboard. Court documents say that Cuban spies transmitted flight data and monitored the Naval station in Key West.

The affidavit states that this is enough probable cause to believe that a conspiracy took place in Florida.

The 95-year-old former Cuban leader is already facing a federal indictment for the same incident.

"I'm not ignorant of the fact that Raul Castro is an older man who is probably not looking to march himself into Miami. I think others would get him before the court of law would. But at the end of the day, we stand ready to prosecute the case," Uthmeier said.

Uthmeier said the charges limit Castro's movements, and that travel anywhere with a U.S. extradition agreement could lead to his arrest.

U.S. Attorney Jason Reading-Quinones of the Southern District of Florida said the state charges increase pressure on Cuba to change its communist government.

"Under President Trump's administration, we're committed to working with our state and local partners to pursue every lawful prosecutable angle," Reading-Quinones said.

Supporters praise the announcement, saying the charges were overdue 

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis released a statement immediately after the announcement was made, applauding the arrest warrant charging Castro with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

"Raúl Castro gave the order that shot and killed four unarmed men out of the sky over international waters. For 30 years he has hidden behind a dictatorship and dared the world to do something about it. Today Florida answered," Orbis said in a statement. "There is now a warrant with his name on it, and no regime, no border, and no number of years will wash the blood off his hands."

The statement continued and praised Uthmeier and other officials for "refusing to let these murders fade into history."

"The families of these four men have waited three decades for this day," she said. "Miami has never forgotten them, Florida has not forgotten them, and Raúl Castro should never forget that we are coming."

Marcell Felipe, chairman of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, said he believes the state and federal charges are overdue.

"For this community it's black and white. It's simple. And why didn't it happen?" Felipe said.

Kiele Cabrera, whose father was rescued by Brothers to the Rescue decades ago, said she sees a plan that leads to justice.

"We hope that we truly see movement being done by the United States to put even more pressure on the Castro regime and directly on Raul Castro. Raul Castro is the direct culprit of the murders of the Brothers to the Rescue…" Cabrera said.

She said that with or without Castro in custody, she is relieved that her government is trying to hold Cuban leaders accountable.

Critics find the timing of the announcement being the first day of early voting in Miami-Dade curious

Jose Javier Rodriguez, the Democratic candidate running against Uthmeier for attorney general, said the new charges are politically motivated.

"What is the plan? What are they announcing here during early voting? They're coming here making a mockery of our community 30 years, 7 months, 25 days. What is the plan to arrest him?" Rodriguez said.

FIU Professor Eduardo Gamarra said the federal indictment announced five months ago carries more weight.

"I think it was a great political show, but it doesn't really have any kind of policy muscle for that matter," Gamarra said.

Gamarra said it is possible that the first day of early voting was a catalyst for the announcement in a state where races are getting closer by the day.

"This tells you a little bit about how the Republican Party, on the one hand, feels that it needs to demonstrate its anti-communist credentials in what appears to be a very tight race," he said.

Uthmeier said his office plans to pursue others tied to the Brothers to the Rescue attack, and that the effort could also lead to charges against Cuban spies.