The US Department of Justice on Wednesday filed formal charges against former Cuban president Raúl Castro and five other Cuban military officers on counts of murder, conspiracy to murder US citizens, and destruction of aircraft, in connection with the shootdown on 24 February 1996 of two civilian planes operated by the anti-Castro organization Brothers to the Rescue. The indictment, approved on 23 April by a grand jury of the Southern District of Florida, was unveiled at the Freedom Tower in Miami on the same day the Cuban diaspora commemorates Independence Day, a date the Havana regime does not celebrate. It is the first time in nearly 70 years that a senior leader of the Cuban regime has faced criminal charges in the United States over events that resulted in the deaths of US citizens.

The announcement is expected at a ceremony to mark the deadly 1996 shooting of two civilian planes, which remains one of the most politically charged episodes in modern U.S.-Cuba…

The US Department of Justice on Wednesday filed formal charges against former Cuban president Raúl Castro and five other Cuban military officers on counts of murder, conspiracy to…

The Trump administration is escalating its regime change campaign in Cuba.

Move comes as Trump pushes for regime change on communist-ruled island

The Trump Justice Department indicted Raul Castro over the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes that killed three Americans.