Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Oct. 19 that state prosecutors have secured an arrest warrant for raul castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes that killed four men.
Uthmeier said the warrant, signed by Miami‑Dade Chief Circuit Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan, charges raul castro with conspiracy to commit first‑degree murder under Florida law and was filed as investigators reopened a long‑dormant state probe. The Florida case is narrower than a federal indictment filed earlier this year, Uthmeier and federal prosecutors said.
The announcement came at a news conference in Miami, where Uthmeier described the state action as complementary to a federal criminal case in Miami. The Justice Department indicted Castro in May on multiple counts including murder and conspiracy tied to the Feb. 24, 1996, downing of two civilian aircraft over international waters, according to reporting by The Washington Post and others.
Miami Herald reporting said the state warrant was signed last Friday and described it as a no‑bond arrest warrant that charges Castro with a single count of conspiracy to commit first‑degree murder. Uthmeier said Florida investigators relied on evidence developed in the federal probe and on a seven‑page affidavit prepared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
What Florida says and the limits of enforcement
State officials acknowledged at the press conference that bringing raul castro to Florida would be difficult while he remains in Cuba. The Miami Herald reported that Uthmeier said Castro is unlikely to surrender voluntarily but argued the warrant could limit his travel and lead to arrest if he visits a country willing to extradite him.
Prosecutors told reporters they have assembled witness statements and electronic evidence they say show Cuban intelligence operatives collected information in Miami that helped plan the attack. The state affidavit cites members of the Wasp Network who investigators say infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and passed flight information to Havana.
Both the state affidavit and the federal indictment describe Operation Scorpion, a Cuban intelligence effort the filings say paved the way for the shootdown. Federal prosecutors previously secured indictments naming several Cuban military pilots; the Washington Post reported that the federal superseding indictment filed this year added Castro as a defendant.
Families of the four men killed — identified in reporting as Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. — have lobbied for accountability for decades, Miami coverage notes, and officials framed the state filing as a way to pursue justice that federal action alone cannot deliver.
Because the Florida action rests on state jurisdiction claims tied to activities in Miami‑Dade and Monroe counties, prosecutors said the state case can proceed independently of the federal prosecution under the dual‑sovereignty doctrine.
Sources
- Sun Sentinel — reported the state’s decision to reopen an investigation into raul castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown and quoted AG Uthmeier.
- The Washington Post — reported that Florida secured a state arrest warrant and noted a federal indictment in Miami earlier this year.
- Miami Herald — provided details that the Miami‑Dade judge signed a no‑bond warrant charging Castro with conspiracy to commit first‑degree murder and explained jurisdictional and extradition limits.
