Florida Issues Arrest Warrant for Former Cuban President Raul Castro

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an arrest warrant for former Cuban President Raul Castro on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The warrant stems from the February 24, 1996, downing of two civilian aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, an organization that assisted Cubans fleeing to Florida. Uthmeier stated that Castro, who then served as Cuba's minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez condemned the warrant as a sterile maneuver and a senseless legal ploy. Diaz-Canel asserted the action has no legal basis and is intended to serve as an electoral backdrop in Miami while justifying potential military aggression. The Government of Russia also condemned the charges, describing them as baseless and contrived acts of vengeance by the anti-Cuban lobby.

This legal action follows increased economic and political pressure on Cuba from the administration of President Donald Trump. Cuban officials linked the move to the United States' blockade of Cuba, noting that the Trump administration previously used a U.S. indictment to justify military action that toppled Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in January.