US indicts former Cuban President Raul Castro on murder charges

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Today we are announcing an indictment charging Rule Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill US nationals.

[00:00:13]>> US Attorney General Todd Blanch on Wednesday announced the indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro on four counts of murder, one count of conspiracy, and two counts of destruction of aircraft.

[00:00:24]>> If you kill Americans, we will pursue you. No matter who you are, no matter what title you hold, and in this case, no matter how much time has passed.

[00:00:34]>> The charges against Castro are based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles. The indictment, announced by Blanch in Miami at an event to honor the victims, represents a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Cuba's communist government.

[00:00:54]Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel called the indictment a political maneuver devoid of any legal foundation. The Cuban government has argued that the 1996 strike was a legitimate response to the planes intruding on Cuban airspace.

[00:01:08]US President Donald Trump has pushed for a regime change in Cuba where communists have been in charge since Raul Castro's brother Fidel led a revolution in 1959.

[00:01:19]Former President Raul Castro remains a powerful figure in Cuban politics.

[00:01:23]>> What's coming next for Cuba, >> but we're going to see it's a failing nation.

[00:01:27]>> Following Wednesday's announcement, Trump said there won't be an escalation with Cuba.

[00:01:33]>> We're freeing up Cuba.

[00:01:34]>> The US has effectively imposed a blockade on the island by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, triggering power outages, and delivering blows to Cuba's already fragile economy. and President Trump.

[00:01:47]>> In a video message to the Cuban people, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents were Cuban immigrants to the United States, offered Cuba $100 million in aid and blamed Cuba's leaders for shortages of electricity, food, and fuel. In response, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called Rubio, quote, the mouthpiece of corrupt and vengeful interests, but did not rule out accepting the aid. The US also indicted Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro in January, albeit on drug charges, then sent its military into Caracus to arrest him.

[00:02:23]94year-old Castro last appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month, and there is no evidence that he has since left the island or that the government would allow him to be extradited.