Florida Issues No-Bond Arrest Warrant for Raúl Castro Over 1996 Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown

Florida has obtained a state arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro on a no-bond charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the Feb. 24, 1996, shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, an attack that killed four men.

The warrant, issued in Miami-Dade County, directs law enforcement to arrest Castro and says a judge found probable cause to believe he conspired to commit first-degree murder, according to Fox News Digital, which obtained a copy. The Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, which reported the warrant Sunday night, said it was signed Friday by Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is expected to speak about the warrant at a 10 a.m. news conference Monday at Florida International University in Miami. Fox News reported that Gov. Ron DeSantis was expected to appear with him; NBC 6 South Florida later reported that the event was being coordinated and led by Uthmeier. This story will be updated with what they say.

What the Raúl Castro Arrest Warrant Says

"The investigation revealed evidence of a conspiracy to kill persons aboard BTTR aircraft. The deaths of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr. were the object of that conspiracy," the warrant reads, according to Fox News Digital.

Investigators allege that the Cuban regime's foreign intelligence service planned to shoot down Brothers to the Rescue aircraft and kill the people aboard, and that the plan moved up the chain of command, with Raúl Castro and his brother, the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, as the final decision-makers, according to Fox News Digital's account of the warrant.

The warrant quotes a recorded statement Castro gave months after the shootdown, in which he described orders he gave senior military leaders beforehand. "They have violated the airspace, the waters of the Republic. I made it clear 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 come into Havana and leave," Castro said, according to the warrant.

"Of course, with a missile shot like that, plane against plane, what comes down is a ball of fire, and it is going to fall on top of the city. So I said: Fine, shoot them down at sea when they show up, and those who have the authority are not to consult anyone," he added, according to the warrant.

The warrant authorizes Florida to seek Castro's extradition to the state if he is arrested in another U.S. jurisdiction, and the attorney general's Office of Statewide Prosecution will take over the case, Fox News Digital reported.

Why Florida Says It Can Charge Castro

According to the affidavit, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, Florida claims jurisdiction because of two Cuban spies in Miami and Key West who "infiltrated" Brothers to the Rescue. Weeks before the shootdown, the spies allegedly reported on the naval air station in Key West and were told to send Brothers to the Rescue flight data to Cuban authorities.

The affidavit says the spy network told its informants not to fly with Brothers to the Rescue between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27, 1996, and that one of them left Florida for Cuba on Feb. 23, the day before the attack, the papers reported.

"(There is) probable cause to believe the defendant, Raul Modesto Castro Ruz, agreed with others to commit first-degree murder of ... persons aboard (the Brothers to the Rescue) aircraft," the affidavit reads, according to the Times/Herald report.

Uthmeier announced a state criminal investigation into Castro's role in the shootdown in March, according to the Times/Herald.

A State Case on Top of the Federal Indictment

Castro, now 95, already faces federal charges. On May 20, the Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment charging Castro and five co-defendants with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder. Castro was Cuba's defense minister at the time of the shootdown.

The murder and conspiracy counts carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment, the Justice Department said. "If you kill Americans, we will pursue you. No matter who you are. No matter what title you hold," then-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said when the indictment was announced.

The Justice Department's announcement thanked Uthmeier's office for its support in the federal investigation. An indictment is an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The 1996 Shootdown

Brothers to the Rescue was a Miami-based group that flew unarmed civilian aircraft over the Florida Straits to search for Cuban migrants in distress at sea. By the mid-1990s it had also become involved in anti-Castro political activity, including dropping pro-democracy leaflets over Cuba, Fox News reported.

On Feb. 24, 1996, Cuban military fighter jets fired air-to-air missiles at two of the group's unarmed Cessna aircraft, destroying them without warning while they were flying outside Cuban territory, according to the federal indictment. The four men killed included three U.S. citizens.

The Cuban government has rejected the U.S. prosecution of Castro, maintaining that Brothers to the Rescue repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and that Cuba acted in defense of its sovereignty, Fox News reported. The United States and a United Nations investigation both concluded that the shootdown took place over international waters, according to the Times/Herald.

Sources: The state warrant was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald; Fox News Digital also obtained the warrant. Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald, "Florida judge signs arrest warrant for Cuba's Raul Castro," Oct. 18, 2026: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2026/10/18/raul-castro-uthmeier-arrest-warrant-brothers-to-the-rescue/ ; Fox News Digital, "Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier secures state arrest warrant for Raúl Castro," Oct. 19, 2026: https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-attorney-general-james-uthmeier-secures-state-arrest-warrant-raul-castro ; NBC 6 South Florida, "Miami judge signs state arrest warrant for Raúl Castro in Brothers to the Rescue shootdown": https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/cuba/miami-judge-signs-state-arrest-warrant-for-raul-castro-in-brothers-to-the-rescue-shootdown/3874611/ ; U.S. Department of Justice, "United States Unseals Superseding Indictment Charging Raul Castro and Five Castro Regime Co-Defendants for 1996 Shoot-Down of Brothers to the Rescue Aircraft," May 20, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-unseals-superseding-indictment-charging-raul-castro-and-five-castro-regime-co