Statement from Dariel Fernandez on the Indictment of Communist Socialist Murderous Dictator Raúl Castro and Pursuit of Justice for the Brothers to the Rescue Heroes

For three decades, the families of the Brothers to the Rescue heroes have waited for justice. Thirty years of pain, thirty years without accountability, and thirty years in which the communist socialist Cuban dictatorship believed it would never face consequences for the murder of innocent men over international waters.

Today, the indictment of the communist, socialist murderous dictator Raul Castro marks a historic moment.

The world remembers February 24, 1996. Four brave men were killed when Cuban military aircraft shot down unarmed civilian planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian organization dedicated to saving Cuban rafters fleeing tyranny and desperation. The International Civil Aviation Organization concluded the attack occurred over international waters. The facts have never disappeared, even when political convenience tried to bury them.

Raul Castro was the head of Cuba’s armed forces at the time. For years, the regime denied responsibility, justified the attack, and protected those involved while the victims’ families were left without justice.

This indictment sends a message that crimes committed by powerful political figures do not expire with time or age. Accountability matters. Truth matters. Justice matters.

The communist socialist Cuban dictatorship has spent more than six decades repressing dissent, imprisoning opponents, separating families, and denying the Cuban people basic freedoms while demanding impunity from the international community. The Brothers to the Rescue massacre became one of the clearest symbols of that brutality.

On February 20, 2026, I sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling for justice and accountability against Raúl Castro for the 1996 murder of Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. I did so because justice delayed cannot become justice denied, and because the Cuban exile community has demanded accountability for nearly thirty years.

This moment also comes at a critical time for the security and stability of our hemisphere. The Cuban dictatorship has spent decades exporting repression, instability, political persecution, and alliances with hostile regimes that threaten democracy and freedom across the Americas. The regime is not only a tragedy for Cuba. It is a threat to the United States and to the entire region.

This is not about politics. It is about human dignity and the principle that no government should be allowed to kill civilians and escape accountability forever.

I also want to thank Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, Congressman Carlos Giménez, and Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar for their leadership and for calling for this long-overdue action. Their voices have helped keep this demand for justice alive.

The memory of Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales lives on in the conscience of the Cuban exile community and in the hearts of all who believe in liberty.

As a Cuban emigrant, I know personally what this dictatorship has done to generations of Cuban families. That is why this moment matters.

And now, the world will remember May 20 once again not only as a symbol of Cuba’s democratic aspirations, but as the day justice finally began catching up with one of the architects of the dictatorship.

Thirty years later, justice has finally knocked on the door of the regime. The time for accountability is now.