WASHINGTON – For decades, secret audio recordings of senior Cuban officials were shared among U.S. intelligence officials and members of Congress, but no action was taken. Until now. An 11-minute audio recording in which Cuban leader Raul Castro allegedly describes how he instructed a Cuban MiG fighter pilot to shoot down an unarmed plane flown by a U.S. citizen near Cuban airspace is now at the center of an explosive campaign to prosecute Castro. 1996 incident. It led to the codification of sanctions and embargoes against Cuba that remain in place today.
The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to announce charges against Mr. Castro today, May 20, at an event in Miami.
“This is the first time we’re starting to see some kind of justice for the murder of these Americans,” Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who led the recent prosecution effort, said in an exclusive interview.
In an interview, he told USA TODAY that in the months immediately following the shooting, U.S. intelligence agencies had obtained copies of tapes in which Castro’s purported confessions were heard. However, the audio was never released by former President Bill Clinton’s administration and has not been acted upon by subsequent administrations to date. If unsealed, the potential indictment is widely seen as a step toward possible military intervention in Cuba by the United States. This is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration toward Cuba, including targeted sanctions against Havana and its elites and an economic pressure campaign that could shape U.S.-Cuba relations for years to come. USA TODAY previously reported that the Justice Department was moving to indict Castro in connection with the downing of the plane. Neither the Justice Department nor the Cuban embassy in Washington had immediate comment.
How did the planned indictment come about?
With President Donald Trump back in office, Díaz-Balart got to work. He contacted the Justice Department in 2025 and spent the next year developing a prosecution strategy that President Trump could support.
The Justice Department said it has formed a working group led by Jason Redding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the District of South Florida, Díaz-Balart, and another person familiar with the strategy.
Although the evidence existed, the team had to start from scratch, the lawmaker said.
“There was an old indictment there and it wasn’t like we could just dust it off,” Díaz-Balart added.
The charges are believed to be related to the shooting down of two Cessna planes belonging to the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, by Cuban Air Force MiG fighters. The charge appears to be “murder.”
The small plane was destroyed by a heat-seeking missile, and the bodies of the four people on board were never found. Three of them were U.S. citizens.
At the time, Clinton condemned the shooting and a year later signed the Helms-Burton Act, which effectively codified the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
After the shooting, U.S. intelligence agencies obtained audio recordings of several Cuban officials discussing the shootout, according to a declassified 1996 memo. In it, someone could be heard claiming to have instructed a MIG pilot to shoot down a Cessna.
“I told them (Mig pilots) to try to shoot them down over (Cuban) territory, but they (rescue brother planes) would enter Havana and leave,” a voice purportedly belonging to Raul Castro said in the recording. “Of course, with air-to-air missiles, it’s going to be a fireball and it’s going to hit the city. … Well, if they show up again, knock them into the ocean.”
El Nuevo Herald obtained the recording and published a report on it in 2006. The publication stated that the voice belonged to Raul Castro. But U.S. intelligence officials had doubts.
In the declassified memo, which records a meeting between intelligence officials and U.S. lawmakers, officials said they did not believe the voice was Raul Castro until a call from a reporter revealed the connection.
“It’s very unlikely that this was Raul, but we didn’t know for sure,” the note’s author said.
In any case, the audio was left intact. But as early as May 20, it is expected to be at the center of one of the most significant events in the history of U.S.-Cuba relations.
What to expect on May 20th
The Justice Department said in a press advisory that the announcement will be made in Miami on May 20 “to coincide with a ceremony honoring the victims of the 1996 Rescue Brothers Murder.”
This event is rich in symbolic elements. Freedom Tower is a 1925 structure towering over downtown Miami that served as a Cuban refugee center from 1962 to 1974, assisting hundreds of thousands of Cubans seeking asylum in the United States.
President Trump confident that deal can be reached with Cuba
Donald Trump has said he believes a deal with Cuba is possible and emphasized his support for Cuban-Americans in Miami and across Florida.
May 20th also marks the day in 1902 when Cuba officially gained independence from Spain and the United States ended its military occupation of the island.
Randy Pestana, director of national security policy and strategic engagement at Florida International University and a former Pentagon official, said Castro’s indictment signals the beginning of a new chapter in U.S.-Cuba relations, potentially leading to renewed U.S. government intervention.
“This is the most intense pressure and attention on the Cuban regime in recent memory,” he said.
Who else could be indicted?
Díaz-Balart and three Republican colleagues sent a letter to Trump in February calling for the prosecution of Castro and other Cuban officials involved in the attack.
In an interview, Díaz-Balart declined to say who the other officials were. He named a Cuban pilot who defected to the United States in 2022 as a potential witness.
The lawmaker said he was also investigating drug trafficking charges against Mr. Castro and said he had evidence to support them. However, since there is no statute of limitations, he decided to focus on the murder.
Additionally, he said the purported audio of Mr. Castro provided “clear evidence” that the order was given.
US to indict former Cuban president Raul Castro
The United States is considering indicting former Cuban President Raul Castro on charges related to an incident 30 years ago.
Why is this happening now?
During Trump’s first term, Díaz-Balart helped persuade the president to implement Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which allows American citizens and businesses whose property was nationalized during the Cuban Revolution to sue for damages.
He said Trump’s unconventional approach to foreign policy shows he is willing to consider legal action against Mr. Castro.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I thought this president could do it,” Díaz-Balart said.
Francesca Chambers is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent covering foreign policy. Follow her on X: @fran_chambers
Rick Jarvis is a national correspondent for USA TODAY’s investigative team. Follow Jarvis on X: @MrRJervis.
