Overview
- A Justice Department official said Friday that prosecutors expect to unseal charges in Miami on May 20, pending grand jury approval.
- The case centers on Cuba’s 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes that killed four men, which international aviation investigators found occurred over international waters.
- The push is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, where a working group has been building cases against senior Cuban officials.
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday and conveyed a $100 million humanitarian aid offer conditioned on reforms as Washington steps up legal and economic pressure.
- Cuban officials signaled defiance and residents voiced anger, while victims’ families and Cuban‑American lawmakers in Florida called the potential charges a long‑overdue step toward accountability.