A Miami judge has signed a Florida arrest warrant for Raúl Castro, with no bond, over his alleged role in a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, NBC6 and Fox News reported Monday, October 19.
Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit signed the state warrant against the 95-year-old former Cuban leader. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference at Florida International University in Miami to present details. The allegations have not been established by a conviction.
An initial Telemundo 51 report also named Gov. Ron DeSantis as participating in the announcement. The outlet subsequently clarified that Uthmeier would coordinate and lead the event.
What the Florida arrest warrant for Raúl Castro alleges
According to the warrant language cited by Fox News, investigators found evidence of a conspiracy to kill people aboard the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft. Investigators allege the decision moved through Cuba’s chain of command and was ultimately made by Raúl and Fidel Castro.
The document also authorizes seeking Castro’s extradition to Florida if he is detained in another U.S. jurisdiction, according to that account. That provision concerns transfer within the United States; it does not establish that Cuban authorities will surrender him.
An affidavit cited by the Herald/Times ties Florida’s jurisdiction to alleged espionage activities conducted from the state. Two Cuban agents who had infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue allegedly received instructions to send flight information to Cuba and were warned not to fly with the group from February 24 through February 27, 1996.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted the state investigation. The state warrant is separate from the federal case announced earlier this year.
A separate federal indictment announced in May
On May 20, 2026, then-acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a federal grand jury indictment at Miami’s Freedom Tower. It charged Castro with four counts of murder, two counts of destroying aircraft and one count of conspiring to kill U.S. citizens, according to NPR’s account cited in CPM’s Spanish report.
Five other defendants, identified as pilots allegedly involved in the attack, were also charged: Lorenzo Alberto Pérez Pérez, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raúl Simanca Cárdenas and Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez. Pérez Pérez is alleged to have piloted the MiG-29 that shot down both planes.
González-Pardo Rodríguez was in U.S. custody. Federal prosecutor Yara Klukas told Telemundo 51 that his detention helped open new investigative avenues. CPM reported that he appeared in Miami federal court in early September.
The February 24, 1996, shootdown
On February 24, 1996, a Cuban Air Force MiG-29, accompanied by a MiG-23, shot down two Cessna 337 Skymaster aircraft operated by the humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue over the Florida Straits. The planes had departed from Opa-locka Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.
Four people were killed: Armando Alejandre Jr., 45; Carlos Costa, 29; Mario de la Peña, 24; and Pablo Morales, 29. Alejandre, Costa and de la Peña were U.S. citizens; Morales was a U.S. lawful permanent resident.
Raúl Castro was Cuba’s defense minister and head of its armed forces at the time. Cuba maintained that the planes had violated its airspace. An International Civil Aviation Organization investigation concluded that they were shot down over international waters.
Uthmeier’s state investigation
Uthmeier announced March 4 that Florida was reviving its investigation into the shootdown, according to WLRN. He blamed the Biden administration for halting the case, an accusation attributed to Uthmeier in the original reporting.
The warrant signed by Fajardo Orshan follows that state investigation. CPM has also covered Cuban American lawmakers’ calls for Castro’s prosecution in Washington.
Castro has not appeared before a U.S. court
Castro, 95, appeared on Cuban television on September 5 at an event marking the 65th anniversary of the Personal Security Directorate, alongside Miguel Díaz-Canel. The appearance followed unverified rumors about Castro’s health. CPM covered Cubans’ reactions to that public appearance.
U.S. authorities regard him as a fugitive because he has not appeared before a U.S. court in the federal case. The new Florida warrant does not mean he has been arrested or brought into U.S. custody.
As of the Spanish report’s latest update, the FIU news conference was still upcoming and further details of the state case were expected. The report will be updated as confirmed information becomes available.
American English adaptation of Cubanos por el Mundo’s updated Spanish-language report. State and federal allegations are presented as charges, not findings of guilt.
