May 19 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said it will make an announcement in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday in conjunction with a ceremony to honor the victims of a 1996 incident in which Cuban military jets killed four people.
The Trump administration plans to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday, according to a U.S. Justice Department official, in a move that would mark a step-up in Washington’s pressure campaign against the Caribbean island’s communist government.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said federal prosecutors expect to unseal an indictment against Castro, 94, in Miami.
Castro was defense minister during the 1996 incident. The Cuban government has argued the strike was a legitimate response to the planes intruding on Cuban airspace.
The indictment would need to first be approved by a grand jury.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; editing by Michelle Nichols)
