MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Federal authorities in the United States have charged and five fighter pilots in the 1996 downing of small civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles.
announced Wednesday emerged as the Trump administration continues its pressure campaign to topple the island’s socialist government. The charges accuse Castro and the military pilots of conspiring to terrorize, intimidate and retaliate against Cubans and the country’s exile community by shooting down the aircraft flown by the Brothers to the Rescue group.
Castro, now 94, was defense minister .
Authorities allege that Castro鈥檚 five co-conspirators, all part of the Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, engaged in training missions around February 1996 鈥渢o find, track, pursue and intercept” aircraft off the Cuban coast in anticipation of flights by Brothers to the Rescue.
The indictment states that they underwent training at Castro鈥檚 鈥渃ommand and with direction from鈥� a co-conspirator who was not indicted.
Here is what is known about the five pilots, who were identified as Lt. Col. Lorenzo Alberto P茅rez-P茅rez, Jos茅 Fidel Gual Barzaga, Lt. Col. Luis Ra煤l Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez, Emilio Jos茅 Palacio Blanco and Ra煤l Simanca C谩rdenas.
Lt. Col. Lorenzo Alberto P茅rez-P茅rez
The indictment alleges that P茅rez-P茅rez and a pilot who was not charged shot down two planes on Feb. 24, 1996, in international airspace, killing four Americans.
P茅rez-P茅rez told Cuban state television days after the shooting that he intercepted the first aircraft and warned it based on orders from controllers. He said the plane ignored his warnings.
鈥淲e tried to dissuade their crew members, but they continued to dangerously approach the Cuban coast, and then we received the order to interrupt the flight of the first aircraft,鈥� P茅rez-P茅rez said at the time. 鈥淎fterward, we conducted the same operation with the second plane, which also refused to change its direction.鈥�
Castro is accused in the indictment of authorizing the use of deadly force after Brothers to the Rescue flew planes that dropped pro-democracy leaflets over Cuba in January 1996. U.S. prosecutors said Castro and his older brother, Fidel Castro, who was president at the time, were the final decision-makers on orders to kill.
P茅rez-P茅rez was previously indicted in the U.S. in August 2003 and accused of murder, aircraft destruction and conspiracy.
Lt. Col. Luis Ra煤l Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez
The indictment alleges that on the same day of the deadly attacks, Gual Barzaga, Simanca C谩rdenas and Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez followed but did not destroy a third plane.
Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez, 65, is the only defendant in U.S. custody. He was indicted in November for allegedly making false statements in an immigration document.
The U.S. Department of Justice at the time said that he falsely stated he never received any weapons or military training, never participated in any group that used weapons or threatened to use weapons, and never served in a military or police unit. In reality, prosecutors said, “he received such training and served in the Cuban military as part of the Air Defense Force.鈥�
He is scheduled to be sentenced later this month after pleading guilty in February.
The five pilots and Castro face one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. Castro and P茅rez-P茅rez were also indicted on counts of murder and destruction of aircraft.
Three other pilots
Little is known about Gual Barzaga, Palacio Blanco and Simanca C谩rdenas.
The indictment alleges that P茅rez-P茅rez and Palacio Blanco took off from the San Antonio de los Ba帽os airfield, near Havana, in separate jets. P茅rez-P茅rez requested authorization to shoot down the civilian aircraft some 20 minutes later.
While P茅rez-P茅rez attacked the two planes, according to the indictment, Gual Barzaga and Simanca C谩rdenas sat together in a third fighter jet, and Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez was in a fourth one ready to deploy. Authorities allege the waiting pilots listened to P茅rez-P茅rez’s radio requests for authorization to attack the planes, and they eventually joined him in the pursuit of the third civilian aircraft.
The federal indictment includes an undated photo of Gonz谩lez-Pardo Rodr铆guez and P茅rez-P茅rez looking at a document next to a fighter jet.
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Associated Press writer D谩nica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
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