NEW YORK/HAVANA –  US state of Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder linked to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft.

In May, Castro was indicted, along with five others, on US federal charges related to the incident.

The prosecutors accused Castro of ordering the downing of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, the Miami-based Cuban exile group, on Feb 24, 1996.

Born in 1931, Castro served as Cuba's minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time of the incident.

Uthmeier said the arrest warrant will restrict Castro's ability to leave the island nation and prevent him from traveling to any place with an extradition agreement with the United States.

However, he acknowledged that Castro, now 95, is unlikely to willingly fly to Florida to face legal proceedings.

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On Monday, Cuba's government condemned the arrest warrant, calling it a senseless legal ploy linked to Washington's blockade of the island.

"This reprehensible action against the Army General this morning in a pathetic Miami circus, with an electoral backdrop, has no, nor will it ever have, the slightest legal sense and even less practical sense," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a post on social media platform X.

The arrest warrant is a political ploy in legal guise orchestrated by anti-Cuban politicians against Raul and against Cuba, said Diaz-Canel.

Earlier this year, Diaz-Canel condemned the US charges against Castro as a "political maneuver" with no legal basis whatsoever. He said the indictment against Castro reveals "the arrogance and frustration" of US officials in the face of the Cuban Revolution and is intended to "enlarge the file" Washington is building to justify possible military aggression against Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also condemned the move in a post on X, calling it a "new sterile maneuver by the anti-Cuban politicians of South Florida against Army General Raul Castro Ruz, which they have combined with other hackneyed and baseless accusations against Cuba".

Castro is the youngest brother of the late Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro. A guerrilla fighter along with his brother, Raul Castro served as a military and political leader after the triumph of the revolution in 1959.

Since the beginning of 2026, the US has announced new measures against Cuba, including restrictions targeting countries that supply oil to the island and additional sanctions against Cuban entities and officials.

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In June, the US imposed sanctions on five Cuban state-owned entities and a member of the extended family of Castro. In May, the US government sanctioned 11 Cuban officials.