A U.S. indictment of former Cuban president Raúl Castro is expected to be announced Wednesday in Miami, two federal sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
The event, to be held by the Justice Department and the FBI, will be at the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, and it is expected to come in conjunction with a ceremony to honor victims of the Brothers to the Rescue murders of 1996.
Castro, 94, and his brother, Fidel Castro, were accused of ordering the Cuban air force to shoot down two civilian planes that belonged to the Brothers nonprofit group, which carried out rescue missions to save Cubans fleeing their homeland.
Two of the organization’s planes were shot down on Feb. 24, 1996, after they departed from Florida. Four Cuban Americans were killed.
The sources confirmed that a grand jury returned an indictment after it heard evidence but said they haven’t seen the paperwork and can’t describe the actual charges.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will headline the event along with FBI co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia and the U.S. attorney from Miami, along with Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla.
The Trump administration has been pressuring the Cuban regime to bow to U.S. demands, implementing drastic economic sanctions and threatening potential military action.
President Donald Trump began fixing his sights on Cuba’s nearly seven-decade-old communist regime at the beginning of the year following the U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.
In Cuba, Castro continues to wield immense power even though he stepped down as president in 2018 and as secretary of the Communist Party in 2021.
