Raul Castro accused of shooting down U.S. pilots in 1996. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., discusses the indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro on murder and conspiracy charges related to the 1996 downing of two civilian airliners that killed four U.S. pilots on ‘Sunday Night in America.’ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Florida obtained a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raul Castro on a no-bail charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder stemming from the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shooting, according to a warrant obtained by Fox News Digital. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, whose office reopened the state investigation into Castro after he took office, is expected to announce the new arrest warrant alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference Monday morning. Miami-Dade County orders law enforcement to immediately arrest Castro and says a judge found probable cause to believe he conspired to commit first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of four men aboard the unarmed civilian airliner. The order marks a new front in efforts to hold Castro accountable for the Feb. 24, 1996, attack, which has long resonated in South Florida’s Cuban-American community. Castro already faces a separate federal prosecution for the demolition. THE HAVANA REGIME IN SUSPENSION AFTER THE ACCUSATION OF CASTRO WITH PRESSURE FROM TRUMP, SAYS THE GOP REPRESENTATIVE BORN IN CUBA. Florida obtained a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raul Castro on a non-bailable charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. (AP Photo/Ramón Espinosa) “The investigation revealed evidence of a conspiracy to kill people aboard BTTR aircraft. The deaths of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. were the subject of that conspiracy,” the order says. According to the order, investigators allege that in 1996, the Castro regime’s foreign intelligence service’s plan to shoot down Brothers to the Rescue planes and kill their occupants traveled through the chain of command, with Raúl Castro and his brother, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, as the final decision-makers. Raúl and Fidel Castro attend a parade on December 2, 1996 in Havana, Cuba. (Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photography/Getty Images) “They have violated the airspace, the waters of the Republic. I made it clear to them that this had to be decentralized if we wanted it to do its job, and five generals were given the authority. I used to say: try to shoot them down over our territory. But they would enter Havana and leave,” Raúl Castro, now 95, said in a recorded statement months after the incident, recounting the orders he gave to senior military leaders before “Of course, with a missile fired like that, plane against plane, what falls is a ball of fire, and it will fall on top of the city. So I said: well, throw them into the sea when they appear, and those in authority do not consult anyone,” he added in his statement. RAÚL CASTRO MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CHARGED HIM WITH MURDER The State Attorney General’s Office will assume jurisdiction over the multi-circuit conspiracy case against Raúl Castro. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Brothers to the Rescue is a Miami-based organization that flew unarmed civilian planes to search for Cuban immigrants stranded or lost at sea. By the mid-1990s, the group had also engaged in anti-Castro political activities, including releasing pro-democracy leaflets about Cuba. The Cuban government has rejected the US prosecution of Castro, maintaining that Brothers to the Rescue repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and that Cuba acted in defense of its sovereignty. The order indicates that Florida authorities are seeking the full extradition of Raúl Castro if he is arrested outside the Sunshine State, authorizing authorities to seek his return to Florida to face the felony charge if he is arrested. arrested in another US jurisdiction. The State Attorney General’s Office will assume jurisdiction over the multi-circuit criminal conspiracy case against Castro.
