Cuba’s ‘Operation Scorpion’: A closer look at the federal indictment of Raúl Castro
“This one won’t mess around anymore,” one Cuban MiG fighter pilot said after firing on a Brothers to the Rescue plane, according to radio communications released by the United States after the 1996 shoot-down over the Florida Straits.
Federal prosecutors now cite those recordings — along with allegations of Cuban spy infiltration, military planning and high-level authorization — as part of a sweeping indictment unsealed in Miami on Wednesday accusing Raúl Castro and other Cuban officials of orchestrating the attack that killed four men over international waters.
Brothers to the Rescue, based in Miami, flew over the Florida Straits searching for Cuban rafters so they could alert the U.S. Coast Guard to help.
U.S. indicts Raúl Castro for Cuba’s 1996 shoot-down of two civilian planes from Miami
Here are 10 key allegations contained in the indictment.
- The shoot-down was a conspiracy. The indictment accuses Raúl Castro and several Cuban military officers of participating in a conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals by targeting Brothers to the Rescue aircraft in February 1996.
- The operation was ordered at the highest levels of the Cuban government. According to prosecutors, all orders flowed through the Cuban military chain of command with Raul and Fidel Castro “as the final decision makers.”
- Cuban intelligence infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue. The indictment says Cuban spies operating in South Florida penetrated exile organizations and gathered intelligence on Brothers to the Rescue flight plans and activities.
- Cuba created “Operation Scorpion” to confront Brothers to the Rescue. The indictment describes a coordinated intelligence and military operation designed to monitor, track and confront Brothers to the Rescue flights.
- Cuban intelligence agents were warned not to fly on the planes. According to prosecutors, Cuban intelligence operatives infiltrating exile groups were instructed not to board Brothers to the Rescue aircraft during the Feb. 24, 1996 missions, suggesting prior knowledge of the attack.
- Cuban MiG pilots trained for the mission beforehand. The indictment says Cuban Air Force pilots conducted exercises in January 1996 to practice intercepting slow-moving civilian aircraft similar to the Cessna planes used by Brothers to the Rescue.
- The planes that were shot down were unarmed civilian aircraft. The indictment repeatedly describes the Brothers to the Rescue planes as unarmed civilian aircraft carrying humanitarian volunteers and activists.
- The planes were shot down over international waters. Federal prosecutors say the aircraft were outside Cuban territorial airspace when they were destroyed by air-to-air missiles fired from Cuban MiGs.
- A third Brothers to the Rescue aircraft was also targeted. According to the indictment, Cuban fighter jets pursued a third plane with the intention of destroying it, but the aircraft escaped.
- The objective of the shoot-down was to intimidate the exile community. Prosecutors say the operation aimed not only to destroy the aircraft but also to “terrorize, intimidate and retaliate” against Cuban exiles and pro-democracy activists opposed to the Cuban government.
