Lawmakers in Capitol Hill celebrate Castro's indictment

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Washington, where the shock waves from this indictment are reaching Capitol Hill.

[00:00:04]>> Our DC Bureau reporter Ross Kecskes live with the response from local lawmakers tonight. Ross?

[00:00:11]Well, multiple South Florida Republicans have personally been lobbying the Department of Justice and even President Donald Trump himself to move forward with this indictment against Raul Castro. News of those criminal charges this afternoon began to quickly spread throughout Capitol Hill and throughout the afternoon, sparking a lot of conversation about the current US tensions between the United States and the Cuban government. We have been hearing directly from Florida lawmakers as the details of these criminal charges against Castro began to come down.

[00:00:41]We have a different president now.

[00:00:44]We have a president who's not willing to look the other way when the national security interests United States are threatened. It's a following through on the number one duty of every government, which is protect its citizens. Three American citizens were killed that day. Another American resident was killed that day.

[00:01:01]>> This is the beginning of the end. He's 95 years old. They have just indicted him for murder, for conspiracy, for destruction, for wanting to kill American citizens. What they started, which is still work to do in Venezuela, and now what they're doing here to make sure we starve the regime of resources.

[00:01:19]>> And I think the Cuban population of Miami and certainly beyond Miami, people that came there, that were decimated, whose families were ruined, appreciate what the Attorney General just did today.

[00:01:36]And hearing there from President Donald Trump, who many South Florida Republicans are directly crediting with moving forward with this indictment against Raul Castro 30 years after those planes with the Brothers to the Rescue group were attacked back in 1996. Also so important to note here that this federal indictment is taking place against the backdrop of those heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba. In just the last few days, we've begun to see new reports indicating the Cuban military has access to several hundred drones that could potentially have the ability to reach targets in the United States. Coming up during World News at 6:30, hear from South Florida lawmakers and their reaction and also their insight about the national security threat they say is currently being posed by the communist regime just 90 miles south of Florida. Live on Capitol Hill, Ross Ketchki, Local 10 News.