Raul Castro indictment expected to be announced by U.S. officials in Miami today, sources say

The Justice Department on Wednesday is expected to unveil the criminal charges against Cuba’s former leader Raúl Castro, sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News.

Castro, 94, the brother of longtime dictator Fidel Castro, is being indicted on charges related to Cuba’s deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, U.S. officials told CBS News earlier this month. 

The Justice Department had earlier announced an event Wednesday at Miami’s Freedom Tower during a ceremony to honor victims of the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown 30 years ago. Jose Basulto, the founder of the group, told CBS Miami that he hoped it would be Castro’s indictment, saying “it’s time for them to pay.” 

Raúl Castro formally stepped down as the leader of Cuba’s Communist Party in 2021, but he is still widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in the country.