Díaz-Balart, Salazar, Giménez, and Senator Moody Mark 30 Years Since Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown, Make the Case for Indicting Raúl Castro
Hialeah Gardens, FL – Today, U.S. Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), María Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28), and Senator Ashley Moody marked the 30th year since the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft ordered by Raúl Castro, which resulted in the deaths of four innocent men. The Representatives were joined by family members of the victims who perished, as well as leaders of the Cuban American exile community.
This event honored the memory and demanded accountability for Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos A. Costa, Mario M. de la Peña, and Pablo Morales—three American citizens and one legal U.S. resident who were murdered in cold blood when Raúl Castro deliberately targeted and ordered Cuban Mig fighter jets to obliterate two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft over international waters.
“Thirty years ago, Raúl Castro carried out a brutal attack that murdered innocent Americans whose only mission was to save lives,” said Congressman Díaz-Balart. “We gather not only to honor their memory, but to reaffirm that crimes against Americans cannot be ignored, excused, or forgotten. There must be accountability for those responsible. I commend President Trump for his maximum pressure campaign against anti-American regimes and for always prioritizing our national security. The United States must continue to stand firmly with the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom, justice, and democracy.”
“Today, we reaffirmed a simple truth: justice delayed is justice denied," said Congressman Giménez. "Nearly three decades after the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, the Castro regime has never been held accountable for the cold-blooded murder of Americans carrying out a humanitarian mission. The facts are clear, the evidence is overwhelming, and responsibility leads directly to Raúl Castro. If America First means defending our citizens and confronting tyranny in our hemisphere, then the time has come for the Department of Justice to act and finally hold Raúl Castro accountable.”
“For 67 years, the Cuban people, in Miami and on the island, have lived through repression and exile under the Castro regime,” said Congresswoman Salazar. “As we mark the anniversary of the shooting down of two unarmed civilian planes and the killing of three U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident, we remember a crime that for decades went unanswered. But this moment is different. Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, accountability is finally within reach. It’s time to indict Raúl Castro and bring this dictatorship to an end. Freedom is no longer a distant dream.”
“I’m honored to join Congressman Diaz-Balart in remembering the four lives tragically lost in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown 30 years ago—four men who believed so deeply in freedom that they were willing to fly toward danger in order to save others seeking it," said Senator Moody. "It is essential that we continue putting pressure on the communist regime that ordered this horrific attack on civilians. America is at its best when we stand for liberty and lead through strength.”
Last week, U.S. Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28), and Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump asking that his administration consider indicting Raul Castro for his involvement in the 1996 shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft which resulted in four murders in cold blood.
Read the full letter here.
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