{"id":762,"date":"2026-05-20T20:01:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=762"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:01:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:01:40","slug":"execute-him-cuban-americans-in-south-florida-celebrate-raul-castro-indictment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=762","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Execute him\u2019: Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrate Raul Castro indictment"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrated the federal indictment Wednesday of Cuban leader Raul Castro as a long overdue reckoning for his alleged role in the 1996 killing of four Cuban American men \u2014 a shoot-down over the Florida Straits that has long lived in South Florida\u2019s collective memory.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=760\">The dream lover who turned out to be a Castro spy after Cuba shoot-down<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad there\u2019s a reason to finally execute him because he executed many people,\u201d said Andres Catalas, 57, who came to the United States 23 years ago, said of Castro and his indictment. \u201cI do think they ordered those people to be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, which also marked Cuba\u2019s Independence Day, a federal judge unsealed an April 23 indictment against Castro, the 94-year-old president of Cuba and brother of the late Fidel Castro. The complaint says that Castro authorized the shooting down of two unarmed planes on a humanitarian mission to rescue Cubans in distress trying to get to the United States through the Florida Straits.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Three U.S. citizens, Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr, Mario de la Pena, and a U.S. resident, Pablo Morales, died aboard the two Cessna aircraft. Thirty years later on Wednesday, Castro was charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft and murder.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The killings have long been personal for Cuban Americans in South Florida, many who came to the United States by boat themselves or still have family on the island.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Andy Herrera, an investor in his mid-50s from central Cuba who came to the U.S. in the 1990s, said the indictment was a \u201cpast due victory\u201d for the Cuban American community of South Florida. He was a college student in New York when Cuban jet fighters shot down the plane.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been waiting for our government to seek justice even if it\u2019s late, sooner or later justice will be served,\u201d he said \u201cWe are really happy that he was indicted. There is no way to escape justice.\u201d The federal indictment says that the Cuban government infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and reported back on its activities to Havana.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time of their destruction, the two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft were flying outside of Cuban territory. In fact, they were flying over international waters, traveling away from Cuba,\u201d the indictment says. A third aircraft managed to escape safely.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=758\">Morning dog walk led to a knife in the eye for unsuspecting woman, report says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Bryan Calvo, the mayor of Hialeah, the U.S. city with the largest population of Cuban exiles, said Wednesday\u2019s indictment spoke to \u201ca deep wound in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe families of the four men killed in 1996 deserve to see that the world has not moved on. The people of Cuba deserve more than a change of slogans. They deserve the end of the regime that took those lives and has taken so many others in silence. This indictment should be a beginning, not a curtain call, in the effort to finally bring about a free Cuba,\u201d Calvo said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Cuban leader Miguel Diaz Canel in a statement called the indictment a \u201cpolitical maneuver, devoid of any legal foundation\u201d that would be used to \u201cjustify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>During a press conference on Wednesday outside the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, U.S. officials described the 1996 killing as premeditated, state sanctioned murder. They spoke of he downing of the planes as an inflection point in Cuban American history and Wednesday\u2019s indictment as seeking justice. Jason Reding Quinones, the U.S. Attorney for South Florida, acknowledged the importance of the location of the announcement at the Freedom Tower, calling the building \u201cthe Ellis Island for Cuban Refugees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor 30 years, the families of these men have waited. The Miami community has waited. Our country has waited. Today is a step toward accountability,\u201d Reding Qui\u00f1ones, himself the child of Cuban exiles, said. \u201cThis passage of time does not erase murder. It does not diminish the value of these lives. And it does not weaken our commitment to the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The indictment comes as the United States puts pressure on the Cuban government to negotiate economic and political reforms, and President Donald Trump has recently hinted at the possibility of regime change. The federal government in recent months has imposed an oil blockade on Cuba to bring its leaders to the table, a sanction that has exacerbated the island\u2019s humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=757\">\u2018Time does not erase murder.\u2019 Miami leaders react to Raul Castro\u2019s indictment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Trump administration brought charges against Raul Castro for shooting down two civilian planes in 1996. Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-dade-county"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Execute him\u2019: Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrate Raul Castro indictment - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Execute him\u2019: Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrate Raul Castro indictment - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Trump administration brought charges against Raul Castro for shooting down two civilian planes in 1996. 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