Federal prosecutors in Miami issued a criminal indictment against former Cuban president Raúl Castro and five others on Wednesday over the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, in a sharp escalation of Washington's pressure campaign on Havana. The 94-year-old former president was charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals and four counts of murder, the Guardian reported. Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche announced the charges; Castro was Cuba's defence minister at the time of the shootdown.
What exactly is Castro charged with? The indictment lists conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and related conspiracy counts tied to the February 1996 destruction of two Cessna aircraft flown by Cuban exiles in international airspace, the Guardian reported. France 24's Washington coverage placed the announcement in the broader Trump-administration push against Cuba's socialist government, and a Deutsche Welle write-up presented the charges as the latest step in that pressure campaign. Castro stepped down from the Cuban presidency in 2018 but remained the political figurehead of the ruling Communist Party.
How did Trump and Havana respond? 
Donald Trump called the indictment "a very important moment" for Cubans, in remarks carried by PBS NewsHour. Trump later said the United States was "freeing up Cuba" and ruled out escalation, Al Jazeera reported. Havana, for its part, accused Washington of hypocrisy over the announcement, in a Guardian live-blog readout of Cuban government statements.
What jurisdiction does Washington claim? The Miami filing rests on the deaths of US citizens aboard the downed aircraft in international airspace, France 24's correspondent reported, giving federal prosecutors a long-running but never-charged hook into the 1996 incident — a hook now being deployed three decades on as part of the wider campaign on the regime.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
