Former Cuban President Raul Castro watches a May Day rally in Havana, Cuba, on May 1, 2025. [Reuters/Norlis Perez/File Photo]

The federal Justice Department is preparing to indict former Cuban Council of State President Raul Castro, a key figure in the Cuban Communist Party, three people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Friday.

The news comes as President Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of military action against communist Cuba, AP reported.

The indictment against Castro is expected to stem from allegations that he was behind the 1996 shootdown of two small planes belonging to the Miami-based exile group "Brothers to the Rescue," which resulted in the deaths of four Americans.

At the time, Castro was the Minister of Defense. Authorities believe Castro was the principal responsible party who ordered the shootdown.

Amid Cuba's severe energy crisis, the United States appears to be using the potential indictment of Raul Castro to pressure for fundamental changes and openness in the Cuban regime.

In March, Republican congressmen from South Florida, where many Cuban refugees have settled, requested a reinvestigation into the alleged involvement of Castro in the 1996 shootdown. AP reported that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami had then assembled special prosecutors and federal law enforcement officials to indict senior Cuban officials.

To date, the U.S. has convicted only one person in connection with the shootdown, for conspiracy to commit murder.

As President Trump seeks to end the war with Iran, speculation is growing that he will soon turn his attention back to Cuba. Earlier this year, Trump vowed to "take over Cuba in a friendly way" if the Cuban leadership does not open its economy to U.S. investment and expel U.S. adversaries.

Concurrently with the indictment preparations, CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly visited Cuba himself and made contact with Cuban officials, including Raul Castro's second son and grandson, conveying a message that the U.S. could offer security and economic cooperation if Cuba undergoes fundamental changes.

Castro, who turns 95 on June 3, succeeded his ailing brother Fidel Castro as president in 2011 and transferred power to his handpicked loyalist Miguel Díaz-Canel in 2019.

Although he has largely stayed out of the media spotlight since stepping down as First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021, it is widely known that he continues to wield significant influence from behind the scenes.

The secret meeting between his grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is indicative of Raul Castro's continued influence, AP reported.

Cuban authorities have dismissed the U.S. indictment efforts as a "political show" aimed at destabilizing the regime, arguing that the attempt to bring a former top leader to U.S. courts is a serious infringement on Cuba's national sovereignty.

Experts believe it is unlikely that the Justice Department will arrest a frail 94-year-old in the Maduro style. However, they analyze the indictment review itself as a political and psychological pressure card targeting the Cuban government and the Cuban-American community in Miami.

Reuters reported that the federal prosecutors plan to unseal the indictment to the public after final approval from a federal grand jury on Wednesday, the 20th.

Reuters also reported that Wednesday is the day for the official commemoration of the victims of the 1996 aircraft shootdown, and the indictment of Castro is expected to be officially announced as part of this event.

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Editor of NNP USA / Special Contribution to this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com