{"id":785,"date":"2026-05-20T16:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=785"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:35:34","slug":"justice-department-to-indict-former-cuban-president-raul-castro-wednesday-reports-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=785","title":{"rendered":"Justice Department to indict former Cuban President Raul Castro Wednesday, reports say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to\u00a0indict Raul Castro, the former president of Cuba, on criminal charges that date back roughly three decades. The indictment could come as soon as Wednesday, according to multiple media reports.<\/p>\n

Read more Maryvale residents to ask Phoenix City Council candidates about \u2018heat crisis\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Justice Department is set to make an announcement, along with a ceremony to honor the victims of the Brothers to the Rescue murders of 1996, \u00a0in Miami, Florida, at 1 p.m. ET. The announcement comes on May 20, a date marking Cuba\u2019s independence, but the socialist government rejects that, saying true freedom began with the 1959 Revolution.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The expected charges include murder and destruction of an airplane, one of the people familiar with the matter said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case ahead of the announcement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Any criminal charge against Castro, which would need to be approved by a grand jury, would dramatically escalate tensions with Havana and ramp up expectations of U.S. military action in Cuba like the one carried out in January in Venezuela to bring President Nicol\u00e0s Maduro to New York on drug trafficking charges.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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There\u2019s no indication Castro will be taken into U.S. custody anytime soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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What are the Brothers to the Rescue murders of 1996?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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In 1996, Cuba shot down two Cessna planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four Cuban Americans. Castro was defense minister at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Shortly after the shootdown, Congress passed what became known as the Helms-Burton Act, which codified a U.S. trade embargo enacted in 1962 and made it far more complicated for successive U.S. presidents to engage with Cuba.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The shootdown was a watershed moment in decades of hostilities between the U.S. and Cuba. To date, the U.S. has convicted only a single person of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown. Gerardo Hern\u00e1ndez, the leader of a Cuban espionage ring dismantled by the FBI in the 1990s, was sentenced to life in prison but was released by President Barack Obama during a prisoner swap in 2014 as part of an attempt to normalize relations with Cuba.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Two fighter jet pilots and their commanding officer have also been indicted but are outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement while living in Cuba.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Raul Castro, brother of the late Fidel Castro, took over as president from his ailing brother, in 2006, and then handed power to a handpicked loyalist, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, in 2018.<\/p>\n

Read more Every state in the US now has average gas prices above $4 as travelers prepare to pay more over Memorial Day weekend<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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While he largely has avoided the spotlight since retiring in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, a fact underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Ra\u00fal Guillermo Rodr\u00edguez Castro, who previously met secretly with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Secretary of State Rubio’s message to Cubans\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is urging the Cuban people to reject their current socialist government and demand a free-market economy with new leadership he says will chart a new course in relations with the United States.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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In a video message released Wednesday, Rubio said there\u2019s no reason the Cuban people cannot enjoy the same freedoms that others in the Caribbean have.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is not impossible,\u201d he said in a Spanish-language post that was recorded Tuesday ahead of an expected indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro by the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cIf owning your own business and having the right to vote is possible around Cuba, why is it not possible for you in Cuba?\u201d Rubio asked.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cIn the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more A Texas girl survived a house fire. Her local McDonald\u2019s just gave her a full ride to college.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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