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DOJ Indicts Former Cuban President, Raul Castro. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired May 20, 2026 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- significant because we stand here at the Freedom Tower, our Freedom Tower, a place that represents refuge, resilience, and enduring hope for those who came to America seeking liberty after fleeing tyranny and oppression in Cuba. So many of our parents, our uncles and aunts walked through these doors, 400,000 of them, looking for hope and opportunity. Today is their day.
For generations of Cuban exiles, this building became more than a processing center. It became a symbol that freedom was still possible, a symbol that democracy, human dignity and human rights matter. Today, we remember the four brave men of the Brothers to the Rescue whose lives were taken on February 24, 1996, not in war, but during a humanitarian mission rooted in compassion and in courage.
Their sacrifice became a painful reminder to the world of the brutality of the Cuban regime and the high price so many have paid for speaking freely, defending democracy and standing for human rights. We also recognize the countless victims who have suffered under the Cuban regime across generations, prisoners, families separated by exile, those silenced for dissonance and all who have endured persecution, all in the pursuit of freedom and dignity.
Their stories, our stories, are part of the larger story of Cuba, but also the part of the story of Miami and this Freedom Tower itself. As we gather today, may we honor the memory of those not only with reflection, but with renewed commitment to truth, to justice, and to the preservation of the democratic values for future generations.
Thank you for being here today for this important commemoration. May God bless each of you, and may God bless the United States of America --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to our brothers and sisters in Cuba, we hear you. Freedom will come. Cuba will be libre.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is now my distinct honor, representing all of you, to introduce the United States Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche.
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TODD BLANCHE, UNITED STATES ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you, thank you.
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BLANCHE: Thank you, thank you very much. It's great to be here in the great state of Florida. Today, we are announcing an indictment, charging Raul Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BLANCHE: Mr. Castro and the others are charged with additional crimes as well, including destruction of aircraft and four individual counts of murder. The indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in this district of Miami on April 23, 2026, and was unsealed today.
For nearly 30 years, 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice. On February -- this is a story all too familiar. On February 24th, 1996, two civilian aircraft operated by 'Brothers to the Rescue' were shot down over international waters by military aircraft from Cuba.
[13:35:10]
Four men were killed, Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Pena, and Pablo Morales. They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida Straits.
As alleged in the indictment, Raul Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those civilian planes and killing four Americans. Those are the allegations returned by a federal grand jury. My message today is clear. The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens.
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BLANCHE: I want to say that we also do not forget the families, the loved ones, and the friends who have carried grief and heartache for 30 years. For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in this country, in the United States of America, for acts of violence resulting in the deaths of American citizens.
Nations and their leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans, kill them, and not face accountability. President Trump is committed to restoring a very simple but important principle. 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.
I want to thank, and everybody in this room should thank, the FBI, the prosecutors, and the agents who worked on this matter. It includes the intelligence community and our federal and state law enforcement partners. They did the work here, so thank you.
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BLANCHE: There's a reason why myself and the Senator and other leadership are here and not in Washington, D.C. to announce this indictment. The community here, you all, understands the history of the Cuban regime better than anyone in America. Many families here know the cost of oppression. I've heard stories over the past week and past months, every one of them heartbreaking.
They know that the pain caused by the regime did not stop at the island's shores, and today's indictment, while it does not bring back the murdered victims, it makes a statement. The United States government has not forgotten these innocent men who were shot out of the sky. And as in every criminal case, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a jury of their peers. But today, the Department of Justice has taken an important step and brought this indictment.
I'm proud to stand here on this podium with U.S. Attorney, Jason Reding Quinones, to my right, Chris Raia, Deputy Director of the FBI.
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BLANCHE: You're going to get to clap for Jason in 20 seconds.
(LAUGH)
BLANCHE: Chris Raia, Deputy Director of the FBI, and James Uthmeier, the Attorney General of this great state.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BLANCHE: And your great U.S. Senator is here as well. She's very busy in D.C., but wouldn't miss this for the world, so thank you for being here, Senator Moody.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BLANCHE: So I want to thank Jason for his leadership down here in Florida. He's doing a great job, beyond today, and I'd also ask him to replace me at the podium to say a few words. So thank you, Jason, very much.
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[13:40:00]
JASON REDING QUINONES, U.S. ATTORNEY: Good afternoon, and thank you all for being here. It may sound a little repetitive, some of the things we're saying, but they're worthy of saying twice, three times, a hundred times. So bear with us.
For nearly 70 years, the communist Cuban regime has acted with impunity in its systematic repression of its people. And for the last 30 years, this regime's senior leadership has gone unchallenged for its murder of four Americans. Today, the United States announces a historic indictment, charging Raul Castro and five co-defendants for their roles in the February 24, 1996 shoot down of two brothers to the rescue.
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REDING QUINONES: A Miami grand jury has charged these defendants with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder. The victims were four unarmed civilian pilots engaged in humanitarian work -- Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Pena, and Pablo Morales.
They were not combatants, they were not armed, and they posed no threat. According to the indictment, Raul Castro, then minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, authorized and oversaw a military chain of command that ended with Cuban fighter jets firing air-to-air missiles at civilian aircraft over international waters. Those missiles destroyed the planes without warning and killed all aboard.
For 30 years, the families have waited. The Miami community has waited and our country has waited. Today is a step towards accountability. This is the first time in almost 70 years that a senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in the United States for acts of violence resulting in the death of Americans.
The passage of time does not erase murder, it does not diminish the value of those lives, and it does not weaken our commitment to the rule of law. Standing here in the Freedom Tower gives this moment added meaning. This is the Ellis Island for Cuban refugees. It was the main processing center for countless exiles who fled communist Cuba with the hopes of reaching the American dream.
My own mother spent her first night in the United States in this very building. After fleeing brutal communist Cuba, like so many families in Miami, mine understands what it means to arrive here with little more than hope and a chance to rebuild under the protection of American law. That history reminds me of the duty we carry, a duty to seek justice for victims, a duty to stand with families who have carried this pain for decades, and a duty to make it clear that those who kill Americans cannot simply wait out American justice.
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REDING QUINONES: Today's date, May 20th, also carries deep meaning for the Cuban people. It is their July 4th. It marks Cuba's independence from colonial Spain. It reminds us that the pursuit of freedom, dignity, and accountability spans generations and still lives alive and well in the heart of the Cuban community.
Today's indictment is one part of that long effort. When I came into office in August of last year, I made reviving this case a priority, and I want to thank the team that made it happen. My first assistant U.S. Attorney, Yara Lorenzo Klukas --
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
REDING QUINONES: -- and my assistant United States attorneys, Abbie Waxman and Mike Guilford --
(CROWD CHEERING)
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REDING QUINONES: -- in conjunction with FBI Miami's Cuba Squad, which we're not going to name or show their faces --
(LAUGH)
REDING QUINONES: -- for their commitment and drive to seeing this case through. It's incredible work.
[13:45:00]
I also want to thank Mr. Attorney General for his incredible support and steady leadership of the department.
And before I conclude, I also want to acknowledge the assistance of Florida Attorney General's Office. Attorney General James Uthmeier and his team --
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
REDING QUINONES: -- have been strong partners in this effort. Their support reflects the best of federal and state law enforcement working together in service of justice.
With that, I turn the podium over to FBI's Deputy Director, Chris Raia. Thank you.
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CHRISTOPHER RAIA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI: All right, good afternoon everyone. Before I begin, I specifically want to thank the Attorney General and of course, the U.S. Attorney here, for allowing me to speak to you all today. And I also want to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to showcase the small part that the FBI played.
As was stated, today marks a significant moment in a long, long journey for justice. A journey that began 30 years ago with an unprovoked attack on American lives. Four humanitarians were on a noble mission to help those fleeing oppression. Instead, their lives were violently taken in a reckless act by the Cuban regime.
The FBI, the Department of Justice, and countless others never forgot them, and we never stopped hunting for the truth. Today's announcement shows that if it is five months, five years, five decades, we will keep pursuing you and we'll keep pursuing anyone who intends to harm our citizens, and they will face American justice.
I'd like to thank our dedicated special agents, our dedicated prosecutors, our dedicated intelligence analysts, and our dedicated professional staff, as well as our counterintelligence program for never giving up. Enormous credit is due to the many teams across the 16 different FBI cases regarding this matter.
The teams who have worked to hold members of the Cuban government's Wasp Network accountable. Our people have systematically and relentlessly searched for evidence, conducted countless interviews, and pieced together critical intelligence for nearly three decades. They turned dead ends into fresh leads.
And over the years, that hard work has paid off with convictions of multiple operatives for activities related to that vicious shoot-down. The charges we announce today are only the latest milestone on that road to justice, a road paved with persistence, partnership, and extreme, extreme resolve.
To anyone who spies on our country or harms our citizens, know this. The FBI, the Department of Justice, has a long memory. We will come after you and we will find you.
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RAIA: As I close, I'd like to close with a personal anecdote, as this is deeply personal to me. You see, I was a former member of the United States Coast Guard right here in Miami Beach in Key West, Florida in the 1990s. I conducted numerous, numerous humanitarian missions with my fellow Coast Guardsmen, rescuing Cuban citizens who were just trying to find a better life.
I also was fortunate enough to act as security during remembered ceremonies held at the 12-nautical-mile limit just outside of Cuban territorial waters. I served on Coast Guard cutters that provided the security to the friends and family who were just trying to remember their lost loved ones. So for me, today brings everything full circle.
So in that vein, we dedicate all three decades of casework to the memories of the loved ones lost that day. To the victims' families and friends, we stand with you as we hold those responsibilities to account.
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Now, I'm going to turn it over to the U.S. Senator of this great state, Senator Moody. Thank you.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We've been watching a moment decades in the making, a historic announcement from Miami's Freedom Tower, the Ellis Island of the South, as one speaker put it. Not only an overdue attempt at justice in the eyes of the Cuban-American community, but really a significant moment in U.S.-Cuba relations.
Todd Blanche, the Acting Attorney General there, announcing that in April, a federal grand jury in Miami passed down an indictment against former Cuban President, Raul Castro, including four counts of murder. The U.S., Blanche says, and President Trump will not forget its citizens or the families and loved ones and friends who have carried grief and heartache for decades.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And of course, this happens as Cuba is really at a breaking point.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
KEILAR: -- when it comes to where they are economically, when it comes to fuel. And let's go now to Isabel Rosales, who is there with a former pilot of Brothers to the Rescue. And Isabel, we were talking with you, obviously very emotional Reinaldo Martin is.
REINALDO MARTIN, FORMER PILOT, BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE: Gave up their lives and came over.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Yeah, Brianna, Boris. Rei Martin, as you can see, he's emotional. He's clutching on to pictures of his lost brothers.
MARTIN: Yep.
ROSALES: We have Mario de la Pena, Carlos Costa --
MARTIN: Mario de la Pena, Carlos Costa.
ROSALES: -- right over here. And that's --
MARTIN: There is me.
ROSALES: That's you?
MARTIN: Yeah.
ROSALES: You've been clutching to this picture as you heard this historic announcement. And you shouted something the moment you heard about this indictment about Raul Castro. Do you remember what you shouted?
MARTIN: Yeah. Presente. When the kids were shot down, we the pilots and this is me and I've been interviewed about this before and I always said it, whenever I fly, I feel like they're with me. And presente means present. So whenever their names were mentioned, we as the pilots always say presente, like they're present with us.
ROSALES: I did notice that when they mentioned each and every name.
MARTIN: I went presente. ROSALES: You said presente, presente --
MARTIN: Which means they're here.
ROSALES: They're here with you. They're gone, but they're here.
When you heard Raul Castro, now 94-years-old, then --
MARTIN: It's relevant what age you are. You did it.
ROSALES: Yeah.
MARTIN: You should have, like I said -- he should have been done this when he was 64 years.
ROSALES: You shouted in that moment. You shouted while watching this DOJ presser live on CNN, you shouted finally.
MARTIN: Finally. Yeah. We've been at this since it first happened. And it sort of like got pushed aside. Cuba came up with some other stuff and we fought it back and forth. And I guess, we didn't have the proper information to present. And I think we have now and now better late than never. But it gets done and that's what it counts.
ROSALES: And Raul Castro was defense minister at the time. He was alleged to have ordered this attack that killed your friends.
MARTIN: Yep. And --
ROSALES: So this moment to hear this, there's a -- it seems like a moment of justice to you. But I looked at you and I saw your shoulders slumped down as this relief almost.
MARTIN: Almost. And this is just the beginning. We got to keep going and get them, you know, properly got to get him prosecuted and, you know, put behind bars.
ROSALES: What do you think about the charges? Murder.
MARTIN: I haven't really. Oh, the murder. Yes, that's what exactly what it was, is that we were -- there were murdered.
ROSALES: Conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
MARTIN: Yep. It was planned. So it wasn't like, oh, you happen to be out there.
ROSALES: Destruction of an aircraft and murder. And actually --
MARTIN: Yep.
ROSALES: Hold on, we got a clip that we want to share for our audience of the moment that you reacted to hearing this indictment being made official against Raul Castro and other conspirators.
I want our audience to listen to that. Hold on real quick. MARTIN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANCHE: Today, we are announcing an indictment charging Raul Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
MARTIN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: Yes.
ROSALES: There it is.
MARTIN: All right. Finally.
ROSALES: Yeah. So conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of an aircraft and murder. You shouted finally. What does this moment mean to Brothers to the Rescue? You're still wearing this shirt, by the way.
MARTIN: Yes.
ROSALES: Your flag is right here. This is the original shirt from over 130 missions that you flew with them. What does this moment mean to you as a former pilot of Brothers to the Rescue and to the diaspora, the Cuban diaspora here in Florida?
MARTIN: It means a lot. It means a lot. It means like a lot of people that always say, we've always been trying or I have, always been trying to do it.
[13:55:00]
And people will come up as it's always been tried before, don't do it. But we never stopped. And we knew exactly what was going on.
And, excuse me, and we kept on and kept on and persistent. And finally, not only, like I said, for the boys, not only for them, but for our parents. Because our parents and all the families that left Cuba, they had to abandon their families there, everything that they owned, everything they started living for, and come to a different country, which was very welcome. OK? And we were very taken care of. OK?
And now, we want this to be a sign to say, hey, you can't go out killing people and not get away with it.
ROSALES: What is the message you hope this sends to Raul Castro, who's not in power, but believe, you know, he's still the most important person on that island. The president, of course, is Miguel Diaz-Canel. What is the message?
MARTIN: He's just a puppet.
ROSALES: And that's believed by and large by the diaspora. Yeah.
MARTIN: Raul Castro controls everything. The Castros control everything. He's just a puppet put there.
ROSALES: What is the message you hope that this sends to them? What do you want them to take from this?
MARTIN: We're coming after you. And that's my message. And justice will prevail on this. And the message is, one of the messages we want for the Cuban people is, you're not alone. There's us here, too. And we're working at it. And hopefully, we'll get this resolved soon. But this is just the beginning of what should have been done a long time ago.
ROSALES: And I'll leave you with this. You're clutching these pictures of your friends, your brothers that are with you, but lost --
MARTIN: Right.
ROSALES: -- in what happened in 1996, February 1996. What is their legacy? How do you want our audience to remember your friends as we take a look at these pictures?
MARTIN: Yeah. I'm going to make it nice and simple. They were the best human beings that I ever met. Friendship means more than any money or anything in this world. And that means a lot to me. I'd better have friends than money. And they were there. We worked together.
And not only did we work together, but I saw them do the same way that I did. We gave our hearts to help them go out and go and help. Like when we did the flights, taking the food over there. They didn't have to. They could have gone out somewhere else. We just finished doing.
ROSALES: Yeah. These were your best friends who you told me, you know, did this out of a humanitarian cause. And you will forever miss them. But this is clearly an important moment for you.
MARTIN: Moment for me, yeah.
ROSALES: And Boris and Brianna, as I throw this back to you, a reminder that Rei was actually scheduled to fly with Jose Basurto that very day in February 1996 when this happened. But his wife said, no, stay home. I need some time together with you. And that is what kept him out of the skies that day.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
ROSALES: Thank you, Rei, for sharing.
MARTIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Reinaldo Martin and Isabel Rosales in Tampa. Thank you so much for that. We have much more on this historic indictment of former Cuban President, Raul Castro, and reaction from Havana in just moments. Stay with CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
