MIAMI, United States. – Four members of the United States Congress – including the three Cuban-American legislators from South Florida – sent a letter this Friday to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, asking that the Department of Justice (DOJ) consider charging Raúl Castro for the downing, in 1996, of two civil aircraft of the Brothers to the Rescue organization, and to evaluate whether Interpol red notices should be issued against him.
The document was spread on Facebook by the congressman Mario Diaz-Balartwho also accompanied the letter with a message in which he described Trump as “a firm ally and a symbol of hope” for “the brave activists who fight for democracy,” and affirmed that “accountability must begin from the top,” referring to the leadership of Cuba.
In the letter, the signatories note that they wish to highlight “a long-standing injustice” and formulate their central request in these terms: “We respectfully request that the Department of Justice consider charging Raúl Castro, who is responsible for the cold-blooded murders of three Americans and a permanent resident of the United States in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shoot down of two civilian aircraft by Cuban MiG fighter jets, and consider whether Interpol ‘red notices’ should be issued against him.”
The document maintains that, “based on public information,” on February 24, 1996, Raúl Castro ordered a Cuban MiG to “engage and destroy” two Hermanos al Rescate civil aircraft over international waters, and mentions three American citizens and a legal resident in the United States as victims: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales. The congressmen add that these flights were carried out over the Strait of Florida “to identify and help” Cuban rafters.
In his Facebook post, Díaz-Balart frames the letter as the anniversary of the demolition approaches. “The atrocious downing of two unarmed civil aircraft in international waters (…) resulted in the murder of four innocent humanitarians,” underlines the Cuban-American legislator.
The signatories also argue that the case has already had judicial developments in the United States and cite subsequent actions related to the demolition. In a section of the annex, it is stated that a jury in a criminal trial presided over by federal judge Joan Lenard convicted the former spy on June 10, 2001. Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo for “conspiracy to commit murder” for his role in providing information to the Cuban Government about Brothers to the Rescue flight plans.
The letter also indicates that, on August 21, 2003, a federal grand jury indicted two Cuban pilots and their then-chief, Rubén Martínez Puente, on murder charges related to the shootdown, and maintains that the International Civil Aviation Organization confirmed in a report that the Cuban government acted “illegally” because the planes were not over Cuban territory or in its airspace.
The letter is signed by Mario Díaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos Gimenez and Nicole Malliotakis, all members of Congress. The document also states that a copy was sent to Pam Bondi, the attorney general of the United States.
