MIAMI, FL - Today, Congressman Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28), alongside Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), María Elvira Salazar (FL-27), and U.S. Senator Ashley Moody, commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, an act of state-sponsored murder ordered by Raúl Castro that claimed the lives of four innocent men. The Members were joined by the victims’ families and leaders of the Cuban exile community to honor their memory and renew the call for justice.
The event paid tribute to Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos A. Costa, Mario M. de la Peña, and Pablo Morale who were killed in cold blood when Cuban regime fighter jets, acting on Raúl Castro’s orders, deliberately targeted and destroyed two civilian aircraft over international waters.
“Today, we reaffirmed a simple truth: justice delayed is justice denied," said Congressman Giménez. "Nearly three decades after the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, the Castro regime has never been held accountable for the cold-blooded murder of Americans carrying out a humanitarian mission. The facts are clear, the evidence is overwhelming, and responsibility leads directly to Raúl Castro. If America First means defending our citizens and confronting tyranny in our hemisphere, then the time has come for the Department of Justice to act and finally hold Raúl Castro accountable.”
“Thirty years ago, Raúl Castro carried out a brutal attack that murdered innocent Americans whose only mission was to save lives,” said Congressman Díaz-Balart. “We gather not only to honor their memory, but to reaffirm that crimes against Americans cannot be ignored, excused, or forgotten. There must be accountability for those responsible. I commend President Trump for his maximum pressure campaign against anti-American regimes and for always prioritizing our national security. The United States must continue to stand firmly with the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom, justice, and democracy.”
“For 67 years, the Cuban people, in Miami and on the island, have lived through repression and exile under the Castro regime,” said Congresswoman Salazar. “As we mark the anniversary of the shooting down of two unarmed civilian planes and the killing of three U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident, we remember a crime that for decades went unanswered. But this moment is different. Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, accountability is finally within reach. It’s time to indict Raúl Castro and bring this dictatorship to an end. Freedom is no longer a distant dream.”
“I’m honored to join Congressman Diaz-Balart in remembering the four lives tragically lost in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown 30 years ago—four men who believed so deeply in freedom that they were willing to fly toward danger in order to save others seeking it," said Senator Moody. "It is essential that we continue putting pressure on the communist regime that ordered this horrific attack on civilians. America is at its best when we stand for liberty and lead through strength.”
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