‘Won’t escalate’: Donald Trump reacts to Justice Department indictment of Raul Castro over 1996 civilian plane shootdown

Donald Trump Cuba has played down concerns about escalating tensions in Cuba and insisted there will be “no escalation” between the two countries after the U.S. Justice Department indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro over the 1996 downing of a civilian plane.Asked whether the indictment would spark further confrontation, Trump responded: “No. There will be no escalation. I don’t think it’s necessary. Look, this place is falling apart. It’s a mess and they’ve lost control.”Castro, 94, has been charged in the United States with murder and related crimes stemming from the downing nearly three decades ago of two civilian planes operated by the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, federal court records show.The indictment was filed in Miami federal court on April 23 and unsealed this week. It charged Castro with one count of conspiring to kill U.S. citizens, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying an aircraft. Five other people were also named as defendants.Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges at an event in Miami as officials gathered to remember the victims of the 1996 incident. “My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump have not and will not forget its citizens,” he said, drawing applause from Cuban-American attendees.The case centers on the shooting down of two small planes on February 24, 1996, when Cuban MiG fighter jets intercepted and destroyed a plane flown by Brothers to the Rescue. Brothers to the Rescue is a Miami-based exile group that flies missions over the Caribbean looking for Cuban migrants attempting the dangerous crossing.All four people on board were killed. The victims included Armando Alejandre, Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña and Pablo Morales.The Cuban government has long maintained that the plane entered its airspace illegally, and a U.S. investigation and an international aviation inquiry concluded the planes were in international airspace when they were destroyed.Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has previously said the military acted on “standing orders” to intercept the plane, but insisted there was no direct order from then-Defense Minister Raul Castro.Raul Castro, born in 1931, played a central role in Cuba’s communist revolution along with his brother Fidel, helping to consolidate power after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He served as defense secretary for decades before becoming president in 2008 and resigning in 2018. He officially left the Communist leadership in 2021, but is still considered an influential figure in Cuban politics.The indictment comes amid an escalation of U.S. pressure on Havana under the Trump administration, which has combined sanctions and diplomatic pressure to label Cuba a “rogue state.”Trump also laid out U.S. policy toward Cuba to expand influence in the Western Hemisphere, saying: “From the shores of Havana to the shores of the Panama Canal, we will drive out lawlessness, crime and foreign aggression.”Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has rejected the U.S. accusations and has previously warned that any military action would result in a “massacre.”Cuba’s worsening economic crisis has further complicated tensions, with fuel shortages, power outages and food shortages exacerbating unrest on the island. Washington has stepped up sanctions on countries that supply fuel to Cuba, adding to economic pressure.