Overview
- The Justice Department disclosed late Thursday that prosecutors in South Florida plan to seek a grand jury indictment of 94-year-old Raúl Castro.
- The proposed case focuses on Cuba’s 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes over the Florida Straits that killed four volunteers.
- Prosecutors are examining Castro’s responsibility based on his 1996 role as defense minister who directed Cuba’s armed forces.
- After CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Havana on Thursday, the U.S. paired a $100 million humanitarian offer with demands for “fundamental changes.”
- An indictment would be difficult to enforce because Cuba will not extradite him, so detention would likely require travel to a country willing to hold him.