{"id":278530,"date":"2026-05-20T20:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278530\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:08:20","slug":"miami-cuban-exile-community-reacts-with-tears-chants-and-hope-after-raul-castro-indictment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278530\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Cuban exile community reacts with tears, chants and hope after Ra\u00fal Castro indictment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crowds gathered outside Miami’s Freedom Tower and at Versailles Restaurant on Wednesday as members of South Florida’s Cuban exile community reacted emotionally to the federal indictment of former Cuban leader Ra\u00fal Castro<\/a> in connection with the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that Castro and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami in connection with the Cuban military’s downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes nearly 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

Castro, 94, was indicted on charges including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals<\/a>, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft, according to court records released Wednesday. Prosecutors allege the planes were outside Cuban airspace when they were shot down by Cuban fighter jets in February 1996, killing four people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The indictment also names five other defendants identified as Cuban fighter pilots, including one who had previously been charged in the case more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n

The criminal case marks a major escalation in pressure against Cuba’s communist government. Ra\u00fal Castro, the brother of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, served as Cuba’s president from 2008 to 2018 and later led the country’s Communist Party until 2021.<\/p>\n

Emotional crowds gather at Miami’s Freedom Tower<\/p>\n

Outside the Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami, crowds waved Cuban flags and chanted “Liberty” as community members described the indictment as a long-awaited step toward justice.<\/p>\n

“This is it,” one woman told CBS News Miami while describing the emotions she felt throughout the day. “I never felt this way before. And I think everybody here feels the same way.”<\/p>\n

The woman, visibly emotional during the interview, said the moment brought “smiles, tears, happy smiles” and nervousness after decades of waiting for accountability.<\/p>\n

“My hands are shaking,” she said. “What can I say?”<\/p>\n

City of Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins<\/a> was interacting with crowds gathered outside the Freedom Tower, where officials and community leaders<\/a> were seen entering and leaving throughout the early afternoon.<\/p>\n

Cuban Americans call indictment a long-awaited moment<\/p>\n

Several people told CBS News Miami they believed the indictment represented more than just a legal case.<\/p>\n

“Maybe we can be able to visit our country again,” the woman said. “Just an array of emotions so intense that I can’t describe it.”<\/p>\n

She also praised political leaders she believes pushed for the case to move forward.<\/p>\n

“They’re doing a good job standing up for Cuba and standing up for liberty and anti-communism and just freedom,” she said. “Communism cannot exist.”<\/p>\n

When asked why it took nearly three decades for charges to materialize, she responded: “Nobody cared enough until now.”<\/p>\n

Versailles becomes another gathering place for Cuban exile community<\/p>\n

At iconic Cuban restaurant Versailles in Miami’s Little Havana<\/a>, another gathering place for the Cuban exile community, emotions were similarly intense.<\/p>\n

CBS News Miami spoke with people who said they felt they were witnessing a historic moment many families had waited generations to see.<\/p>\n

One man who came to South Florida in 1960 became emotional during his interview, recalling how even his parents dreamed of seeing a day like this.<\/p>\n

Another woman, Lourdes Salas Bazan, called the indictment “very emotional.”<\/p>\n

“Finally, after 67 years,” she said, referencing 1959, the year the Castro brothers took power in Cuba. “Those beautiful young men and a resident were shot by the order of Ra\u00fal Castro.”<\/p>\n

Little Havana residents reflect on decades of exile and loss<\/p>\n

Salas Bazan said she spent the morning at a Bay of Pigs veterans gathering before heading to the Freedom Tower and later Versailles to celebrate with others in the community.<\/p>\n

“Of course I came,” she said when asked why she went to Versailles after hearing the news. “First of all, for the cortadito. That’s very important.”<\/p>\n

She also pointed to the importance of preserving the history of Cuba’s exile community and the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion<\/a>, when Cuban exiles tried to overthrow the Castro government.<\/p>\n

Throughout the early afternoon, chants echoed outside the Freedom Tower as Cuban Americans reflected on decades of pain, exile and unresolved grief tied to both the Castro regime and the Brothers to the Rescue tragedy.<\/p>\n

For many gathered Wednesday, the indictment represented something they feared they might never see: accountability.<\/p>\n

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