Cuba Rebukes U.S. Accusations and Diplomatic Visits Over 1996 Incident

Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, a Cuban veteran of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, was one of "The Five" sentenced to life terms in the United States for an alleged plot to shoot down the 1996 Brothers to Rescue aircraft. He was released in 2014 following a humanitarian agreement between the Cuban and U.S. governments.

In 2026 the United States announced an indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro related to the same 1996 shoot‑down, placed the Cuban CDR on a banned‑organization list, and sent senior officials—including CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Guantanamo Naval Base—to the island. Cuban officials argue the moves are attempts to find pretexts for aggression, noting the lack of evidence and past cooperation with Colombia and Spain. They say the visits do not threaten Cuba and welcome any engagement conducted in a spirit of peace.

The Cuban side stresses that the accusations are unrelated to any current security threat and that they will not alter Cuba’s stance toward the United States.