Members of the Cuban diaspora jubilantly celebrated Wednesday’s indictment of nonagenarian communist dictator Raúl Castro over his role in the killing of four Americans in February 1996.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking alongside several others at the Freedom Tower in Miami, Florida, announced that Castro had been indicted alongside five other Cuban nationals by the southern district of Florida for their alleged role in the murder of Cuban Americans Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. The four men were members of Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based anti-communist charity organization that conducted humanitarian rescue operations, saving the lives of Cubans fleeing from communism who found themselves adrift at sea throughout the 1990s.
The 94-year-old communist dictator and the other co-defendants face charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, as well as other charges including destruction of aircraft and four individual counts of murder.
Cubans living in the United States were eagerly awaiting Castro’s indictment for years. Their expectations surged last week after reports indicated that the communist dictator would be indicted for the murder of the four Brothers to the Rescue members in 1996 — and culminated with cheers and applause from Cubans gathered outside the Freedom Tower. Some of the Cubans gathered chanted, “USA! USA!” and “Down with the dictatorship!” and called for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba.
“This is a very important message: the impunity enjoyed by the oppressors who have tormented Cuba for 67 years has come to an end. Raúl Castro’s impunity is over. It is a devastating blow to that regime and to the people who fought so hard for their freedom,” Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, coordinator of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) and a Breitbart News contributor, told the Spanish news agency EFE.
“I think this is something the people have been waiting for, and I believe it’s also a strategy on the part of the United States to have a legal justification for intervening in Cuba,” Maribel Ramírez, a 31-year-old Cuban woman living in Miami, told the Spanish newspaper El País.
“At least we have hope, which was something we had lost. Donald Trump has restored hope to the people,” she added.
Similarly, 62-year-old Cuban woman María Rodríguez confided to El País that she feels more hopeful than ever after Wednesday’s announcement. She explained to the newspaper that she arrived in the U.S. in 1968 when she was five years old and was processed by U.S. immigration authorities at Freedom Tower, the same place where the indictment was announced.
“It seems perfect to me. And all I hope is that they actually go and remove him,” Rodríguez said. Referring to the January 3 arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, she added, “We’re very hopeful that will happen.”
The announcement of the indictment coincided with the 124th anniversary of Cuba’s May 20, 1902, Independence Day. Cubans living in Miami celebrated a Mass in honor of Cuban Independence Day. Cubans prayed for the future of Cuba, its freedom, and the prosperity of Cubans living on the island — and availed themselves of the occasion to celebrate Castro’s indictment.
“Communism doesn’t have long to live. We’re right there, right on its doorstep, already,” a Cuban woman jubilantly said, before exclaiming, “Long live Free Cuba!”
In addition to Raúl Castro, the indictment lists Lorenzo Alberto Perez‑Perez, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raul Simanca Cardenas, and Luis Raul Gonzalez‑Pardo Rodriguez as co-defendants. All five listed individuals were members of the Cuban Air Force involved in the 1996 murder of the four Brothers to the Rescue members.
González-Pardo, a Cuban pilot, is presently under U.S. custody pending sentencing later this month in the Middle District of Florida for making false statements on an immigration document. He was indicted in November 2025 on immigration fraud charges after he sought to conceal his past affiliation with the Cuban communist regime in an attempt to obtain a U.S. Green Card.
González-Pardo reportedly entered the United States in April 2024 under the Biden administration’s “Humanitarian Parole” program. Cuban exiles immediately denounced his presence in American territory as soon as they became aware of it in 2024.
“For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in the United States for alleged acts of violence resulting in the deaths of American citizens,” Blanche said on Wednesday.
“President Trump and this Justice Department are committed to restoring a simple principle: if you kill Americans, we will pursue you. No matter who you are. No matter what title you hold,” he added.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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