Florida has issued a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz, charging him with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder over the February 24, 1996, shootdown of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue aircraft that killed four people over international waters. A Miami-Dade judge signed the warrant and ordered no bond, even though Florida has no mechanism to actually take Castro into custody while he remains in Cuba.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement secured the warrant, according to a news release from the Florida Attorney General's Office. The warrant charges Castro with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder under Florida Statutes §§ 777.04(3) and 782.04(1)(a)1, stemming from the destruction of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft. As West Orlando News reported, Uthmeier had directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to reopen the investigation into Castro before the warrant was secured.
Three unarmed Cessnas departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County on February 24, 1996, and two of them were destroyed by Cuban MiGs firing air-to-air missiles after the planes crossed the 24th parallel heading south, according to the attorney general's release. The strike killed all four occupants of the two downed aircraft. The release states the planes were traveling away from Cuba at the time and received no warning despite having been in contact with Havana air traffic control.
What the Affidavit Alleges About Castro's Role
The seven-page affidavit supporting the warrant, prepared by FDLE Special Agent Supervisor Jorge Gonzalez, identifies Castro as a final decision-maker in the chain of command that authorized the shootdown, per the Florida Attorney General's Office. At the time, Castro served as Cuba's Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President, the affidavit states. According to that same document, Castro gave senior military leaders standing orders to shoot the aircraft down at sea without consulting anyone, reportedly telling them: “Fine, shoot them down at sea when they show up.”
The affidavit also describes how Cuban Directorate of Intelligence agents operating through the Wasp Network infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue, reported the group's flight plans, and supported what Cuban intelligence called Operación Escorpión, or Operation Scorpion, according to the attorney general's release. Officials say elements of the conspiracy occurred across two judicial circuits — the Eleventh in Miami-Dade County and the Sixteenth in Monroe County — which is why the Office of Statewide Prosecution will assume jurisdiction over what the release describes as a multi-circuit organized criminal conspiracy, while FDLE takes the lead investigative role.
No Bond, But No Clear Path to Custody
Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit signed the warrant, and the court ordered no bond, the attorney general's office said. But Uthmeier himself acknowledged the limits of the state's reach, telling the Miami Herald, “We are not the federal government,” when discussing Florida's inability to independently secure Castro's custody while he remains in Cuba. The Herald's reporting also notes that a Florida warrant does not automatically require another country to detain or extradite someone — that outcome would hinge on the laws, extradition arrangements, and federal cooperation of whatever country Castro might be in.
The state case runs parallel to, but separate from, a federal prosecution. The Herald's report lays out the scale difference plainly: the federal indictment contains seven counts, including four counts of first-degree murder, while the state case contains a single conspiracy charge. The federal indictment contains four counts of murder, two counts of destruction of aircraft, and a count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, and names five Cuban military pilots in addition to Castro.
Officials Call It a Step Toward Accountability
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones framed the two tracks as complementary, saying the federal indictment laid the groundwork for the state charges and that authorities intend to pursue parallel federal and state prosecutions, according to the attorney general's release. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said the Florida warrant marks a historic step toward accountability for the four victims, per the same release. Uthmeier's office says the case remains active and that further charges are possible.
The warrant's practical effect is limited by Florida's inability to secure Castro's custody while he remains in Cuba. The Herald also pointed out one practical distinction between the two prosecutions: because presidential pardon power applies only to federal charges, the state charges against Castro could not be pardoned by the president.
Brothers to the Rescue was a civilian organization whose unarmed aircraft were shot down over international waters, and the February 1996 shootdown remains part of the political context of U.S.-Cuba relations. With the state case now open alongside the existing federal charges, Florida officials say the investigation is ongoing even as the question of whether Castro will ever face a courtroom remains unresolved.
