Florida Attorney General Issues Arrest Warrant for Raul Castro Over 1996 Aircraft Incident
Cuba’s President Raul Castro during the CELAC summit.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday issued a new arrest warrant for former Cuban President Raul Castro on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder over the 1996 downing of two aircraft. «Raul Castro called for the planes to be shot down. He called for murder, and that is why today we are announcing state charges against Raul Castro with an arrest warrant for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder,» Uthmeier said during a press conference. The attorney general noted that state authorities now have to build a case based on the alleged evidence and witness testimonies that have so far been collected on the incident and the way it unfolded. «I’m going to bring that case. We’re going to keep building it, making it stronger,» Uthmeier continued. However, the state official acknowledged the unlikelihood of Castro, now aged 95, willingly flying to Florida in order to face legal proceedings. In May, the US Department of Justice indicted Raul Castro and five Cuban military officers allegedly involved in the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft linked to the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Havana has called the accusations a political provocation and stressed it acted in self-defense after repeated violations of the country’s airspace by aircraft belonging to the group. At the time of the incident, Castro was Cuba’s Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
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