{"id":770,"date":"2026-05-20T20:31:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=770"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:31:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:31:55","slug":"cubas-operation-scorpion-a-look-at-the-federal-indictment-of-raul-castro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=770","title":{"rendered":"Cuba\u2019s \u2018Operation Scorpion\u2019: A look at the federal indictment of Ra\u00fal Castro"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis one won\u2019t mess around anymore,\u201d one Cuban MiG fighter pilot said after firing on a Brothers to the Rescue plane, according to radio communications released by the United States after the 1996 shoot-down over the Florida Straits.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=768\">\u2018Execute him\u2019: Cuban Americans in South Florida celebrate Raul Castro indictment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors now cite those recordings \u2014 along with allegations of Cuban spy infiltration, military planning and high-level authorization \u2014 as part of a sweeping indictment unsealed in Miami on Wednesday accusing Ra\u00fal Castro and other Cuban officials of orchestrating the attack that killed four men over international waters.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=767\">\u2018Time does not erase murder.\u2019 Miami leaders react to Raul Castro\u2019s indictment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Brothers to the Rescue, based in Miami, flew over the Florida Straits searching for Cuban rafters so they could alert the U.S. Coast Guard to help.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=766\">Man hospitalized after being shot, Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>Here are 10 key allegations contained in the indictment.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The shoot-down was a conspiracy.<\/b> The indictment accuses Ra\u00fal Castro and several Cuban military officers of participating in a conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals by targeting Brothers to the Rescue aircraft in February 1996.<\/li>\n<li><b>The operation was ordered at the highest levels of the Cuban government.<\/b> According to prosecutors, all orders flowed through the Cuban military chain of command with Raul and Fidel Castro \u201cas the final decision makers.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><b>Cuban intelligence infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue.<\/b> The indictment says Cuban spies operating in South Florida penetrated exile organizations and gathered intelligence on Brothers to the Rescue flight plans and activities.<\/li>\n<li><b>Cuba created \u201cOperation Scorpion\u201d to confront Brothers to the Rescue<\/b>. The indictment describes a coordinated intelligence and military operation designed to monitor, track and confront Brothers to the Rescue flights.<\/li>\n<li><b>Cuban intelligence agents were warned not to fly on the planes.<\/b> According to prosecutors, Cuban intelligence operatives infiltrating exile groups were instructed not to board Brothers to the Rescue aircraft during the Feb. 24, 1996 missions, suggesting prior knowledge of the attack.<\/li>\n<li><b>Cuban MiG pilots trained for the mission beforehand.<\/b> The indictment says Cuban Air Force pilots conducted exercises in January 1996 to practice intercepting slow-moving civilian aircraft similar to the Cessna planes used by Brothers to the Rescue.<\/li>\n<li><b>The planes that were shot down were unarmed civilian aircraft.<\/b> The indictment repeatedly describes the Brothers to the Rescue planes as unarmed civilian aircraft carrying humanitarian volunteers and activists.<\/li>\n<li><b>The planes were shot down over international waters.<\/b> Federal prosecutors say the aircraft were outside Cuban territorial airspace when they were destroyed by air-to-air missiles fired from Cuban MiGs.<\/li>\n<li><b>A third Brothers to the Rescue aircraft was also targeted.<\/b> According to the indictment, Cuban fighter jets pursued a third plane with the intention of destroying it, but the aircraft escaped.<\/li>\n<li><b>The objective of the shoot-down was to intimidate the exile community.<\/b> Prosecutors say the operation aimed not only to destroy the aircraft but also to \u201cterrorize, intimidate and retaliate\u201d against Cuban exiles and pro-democracy activists opposed to the Cuban government.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ra\u00fal Castro indictment alleges Cuban spies infiltrated exile groups and helped plan the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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