HAVANA, Cuba. — The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old brother of Fidel Castro, in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, according to a Reuters report published Thursday night.
The report surfaced the same day CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other U.S. government delegates traveled to Cuba for a high-level meeting with Cuban officials.
Photos posted on the CIA’s X account showed Ratcliffe meeting with Cuban officials during the visit. Cuban authorities said they agreed to the meeting to reassure U.S. leaders that Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States.
For many in South Florida’s Cuban exile community, the reported indictment represents a long-awaited step toward accountability for the 1996 attack, which killed four members of the Miami-based humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue after Cuban military jets shot down two civilian aircraft over international waters.
“That’s a good step, but at the same time it doesn’t reconcile politically speaking that they are trying to engage with a regime at the same time that they are trying to indict their leader,” Cuban exile Ramon Saul Sanchez said.
Sanchez also urged caution until more details emerge about the U.S. delegation’s discussions with Cuban officials.
“Until we know all the details about the meeting, what was proposed to the given regime, what they answered -- we cannot categorically say this is going to be good,” Sanchez said.
The diplomatic outreach comes amid continued tension between Washington and Havana. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently accused the Cuban government of blocking humanitarian aid efforts.
“We’ve offered to distribute $100 million of humanitarian aid to the people through the church and the regime has denied it,” Rubio said in a recent interview with Fox News.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded by saying Cuba would not reject legitimate humanitarian assistance from the United States.
“If there is truly a willingness on the part of the United States government to provide aid in the amounts it announces, it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba,” Díaz-Canel said.
The developments also unfold as Cuba faces deepening economic and energy crises. Residents across the island continue to endure widespread blackouts and fuel shortages, prompting renewed protests in several communities.
Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mining warned the country’s fuel reserves have nearly disappeared.
“Crude oil, fuel oil, of which we have absolutely none; diesel, of which we have absolutely none,” the minister said in remarks translated from Spanish. “The only thing we have is gas from our wells.”
Cuban officials said an oil shipment sent by Russia last month was the island’s only major fuel lifeline since January, but those reserves have now run out.
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