Raul Castro's confession that could lead to a trial in the US: Knock them down into the sea'

A recorded confession from June 1996 describes instructions to use air-to-air missiles to knock down planes over Cuban territory, with the expectation that the missiles would cause a ball of fire that would fall on the city. The confession is linked to the downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, resulting in the deaths of four crew members. The U.S. Department of Justice intends to prosecute Raul Castro more than three decades later. An indictment is planned to be formally presented in Miami at the Freedom Tower, amid heightened U.S. pressure on Cuba. Raul Castro, now 94, is no longer portrayed as able to negotiate directly with the United States, and his grandson is described as carrying on his legacy.

"The confession came almost four months after the planes exploded over the Caribbean Sea: I told them to try to knock them down over [Cuban] territory, but they would enter Havana and leave. It was June 1996, and the 11-minute, 32-second statement was recorded and later transferred to an old compact disc. Of course, with one of those missiles, air-to-air, what comes down is a ball of fire that will fall on the city."

"The man speaking didn't know then that he was revealing the crime that would haunt him for the rest of his life: the downing of two planes belonging to the Brothers to the Rescue non-profit organization. Well, knock them down into the sea when they reappear; and don't consult those who have the authority. The speaker was Raul Castro."

"The U.S. Department of Justice now intends to prosecute him for the deaths of the four crew members, more than three decades ago. On May 20, an unprecedented event could take place in the mecca of Cuban exiles: the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida is set to formally present its indictment against Castro in a ceremony at the Freedom Tower in Miami."

"This initiative comes amid the Trump administration's siege against the regime on the island. Since the Republican president announced in January that Cuba was next, following the incursion into Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro, Cubans have been watching closely for any sign that might shed light on Trump's uncertain plans. It's hard for people to imagine a figure like Castro, now 94, being transferred to a maximum-security prison in the United States so near the end of his life."

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