U.S. indicts Cuban ex-leader, age 94, for murder

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday unsealed a superseding indictment charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with murder. The DOJ charged Castro and five others in connection with the 1996 downing of two small civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles from Cuba. Four Americans died in the incident. The planes were operated by the group Brothers to the Rescue. A grand jury in April 2025 indicted the defendants on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder, according to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Castro, who is now 94, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident.

What other messages is the United States sending to Cuba? Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday delivered a video address to the Cuban people, pitching a new way forward for the socialist state. He claimed that the U.S. oil blockade against Cuba was not to blame for their shortages of fuel, food, and electricity. Rubio said they’d faced similar shortages long before the blockade was enacted, and blamed Cuba’s leadership for the shortages. He specifically called out GAESA, a business conglomerate launched by Raúl Castro 30 years ago and currently owned by the Cuban military.

How is GAESA involved? Members of the conglomerate possess $18 billion in Cuban assets and control 70% of the nation’s economy, Rubio said. Instead of using the money to purchase oil like other countries, they instead relied on free oil from former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and, later, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now in U.S. custody. Now that those Venezuelan leaders are gone, Rubio said GAESA members were having to buy their own oil on the backs of the Cuban people.

What kinds of solutions was Rubio offering? He said the United States was offering $100 million in food and medical aid to the Cuban people, but only if it would be distributed by the Roman Catholic Church or similar institutions, not GAESA or its affiliates. He added that regular Cuban citizens should be allowed to own gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses. The only thing standing in the way of that was Cuba’s government, Rubio said.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about a meeting Trump’s CIA director recently had with Cuban leaders.