MIAMI — For Bay of Pigs veterans and the broader Cuban American community in South Florida, Wednesday’s indictment of Raul Castro is stirring both hope and heartbreak.

Local 10 News visited the new Bay of Pigs museum in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, honoring those who led the deadly and failed attempt to topple the Castro regime 65 years ago, where 91-year-old Andres Mena and his fellow Bay of Pigs were quick with a reminder: they’ve been here before.

“I think this is going to be our last chance (at a democratic Cuba),” Mena said. “I don’t think it will be easy.”

Mena said he thinks the communist regime on the island will put up a “fight” and “many would die.”

Parallel to the cautious optimism, The Cuban American Bar Association already has a plan to move forward without the regime.

“Over the last 20-plus years we have prepared a transitional law document that stands ready to support a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba,” Haydee Sera, with the Cuban American Bar Association, said. “We need to keep in mind the Cuban people. The Cuban people have suffered, are suffering.”

Ana Castro, no relation to the regime, says she wishes she could hit the streets in celebration over the indictment. But she can’t. She’s filled with mixed emotion.

“I’m still really upset about the immigration situation, but super happy,” she said.

Once a supporter of President Donald Trump, her husband was one of thousands of Cubans detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

She says he spent most of the past year at “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“They have made so many Hispanics suffer,” she said.

Castro said she’s skeptical of the administration’s motivations in her homeland.

Cuban Americans said they hope that any regime change wouldn’t look like Venezuela’s, where the ruling party of ousted dictator Nicolas Maduro remains in place.

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