The United States has indicted Raul Castro for his role in shooting down planes flown by emigres in 1996. The decision to indict the aging Cuban dictator is morally right and strategically sound. It is another welcome move in the Trump administration’s campaign to reassert American power, especially in the Western Hemisphere.The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against the 94-year-old Castro on May 20 for his role as Cuba’s defense minister in overseeing the decision of his dictator brother, Fidel, to shoot down planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian organization that aided refugees fleeing the Cuban dictatorship.The two Cessna 337 aircraft he destroyed were unarmed and were shot down outside Cuban airspace. All four occupants, including three American citizens, were killed. Federal prosecutors in Miami first began preparing to indict Castro in the 1990s, and although justice has been delayed, it should not be denied.
Castro was Fidel’s brother and the regime’s iron fist. He was one of a small group who seized power in 1959 and turned Cuba into an outpost for America’s enemies. Cuba has one of the most repressive security apparatuses in the world. Castro built it.
