Raul Castro indicted by US prosecutors over deadly 1996 aircraft attack

Former Cuban president Raul Castro has been indicted by United States federal prosecutors over the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

The indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, accuses Castro, who served as Cuba’s defence minister at the time, of helping order the attack that killed four Americans on February 24, 1996.

US prosecutors charged Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying an aircraft. Five co-defendants were also named.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “ For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice.”

“ My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens,” Blanche added during remarks in Miami.

The aircraft belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a group founded to help Cuban migrants crossing the Florida Straits.

US investigators previously concluded the planes were shot down over international waters, while Cuba maintained the aircraft had violated or neared Cuban airspace.

Cuba’s current president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, dismissed the indictment as politically motivated and accused the Trump administration of “lying and manipulating the events” of 1996.