Overview
- The Justice Department, officials said late Thursday, is preparing to ask a grand jury to charge the 94-year-old over the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown that killed four people.
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban security leaders in Havana on Thursday and offered humanitarian aid only if Cuba makes “fundamental changes,” including political and economic reforms.
- Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida formed a working group to pursue cases against senior Cuban officials, with CBS and CNN reporting an announcement could follow once a grand jury votes.
- Fuel shortages have worsened since the U.S. cut off Venezuelan oil in January, with Cuba’s energy minister saying the island has no diesel or fuel oil and blackouts stretching up to 22 hours in parts of Havana.
- Cuba’s foreign minister voiced defiance as analysts warned that indicting Raúl Castro would be a major escalation, recalling that the 1996 incident helped drive the Helms‑Burton law after investigators found the planes were downed over international waters.