Central Intelligence Agency

At a Florida campaign rally ahead of midterm elections, President Trump suggested U.S. warships returning from the Iran conflict could stop near Cuba, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to "finish up the deal." It is his latest comment raising the prospect of intervention in Cuba, an idea first floated earlier this year alongside criminal charges against former leader Raúl Castro. Rubio soon after posted on social media urging a "discrete partnership with the CIA" for change in Cuba. Both officials have cited Cuba's economic collapse and ties to U.S. adversaries, while talks between the two governments have yielded only new sanctions rather than diplomatic progress.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, tied to the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes by Cuban MiGs that killed four exiles. The charge builds on a federal indictment issued earlier this year accusing Castro, then Cuba's defense minister, of ordering Wasp Network spies to infiltrate the exile group and authorizing the attack. An arrest warrant aims to restrict Castro's travel to nations with U.S. extradition agreements, though officials acknowledge he is unlikely to face a Miami courtroom. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed state charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, building on a federal indictment issued earlier this year. The charges stem from the February 1996 downing of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes by Cuban MiGs over international waters, killing four Miami-based exiles. Prosecutors say Castro, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, authorized the attack after Cuban intelligence agents infiltrated the exile group. An arrest warrant will restrict Castro's travel, though officials concede he is unlikely to face a U.S. court. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed the case as political theater, linking it to broader U.S.-Cuba tensions amid Trump administration pressure on the island.