Florida Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Raúl Castro

Overview

• A Miami court issued an arrest warrant on Monday, October 19, 2026, charging 94-year-old Raúl Castro with homicide, two counts of destruction of aircraft and conspiracy related to the February 1996 shootdown.
• Florida prosecutor James Uthmeyer said investigators allege Castro ordered a premeditated, state‑sanctioned attack that killed four members of the exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
• The charges tie to the 1996 downing of two civilian Cessnas over waters near Cuba in which three victims were U.S. citizens and one was a U.S. permanent resident, and prosecutors say Cuban intelligence agents had infiltrated the group and passed flight information to Havana.
• The action is a state-level move that runs alongside a separate federal case and creates legal and diplomatic hurdles because Cuba has not responded to the warrant and extradition or surrender of a former head of state is unlikely without Cuban cooperation.
• The warrant marks the latest step in a decades-long effort for accountability that is politically charged in Miami and could raise tensions between Washington and Havana as observers watch for any Cuban reply or further U.S. coordination.