President Donald Trump’s administration is charging Raúl Castro, the former Cuban president, with murder for shooting down two planes in 1996.

Four Americans involved with Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based Cuban exile group, died because of the shoot-down.

Florida politicians on Wednesday celebrated the news of Castro’s indictment, calling it a necessary step toward justice.

And ahead of the indictment, some politicians also suggested that the U.S. could use force to compel Castro to comply.

Here’s what Florida politicians are saying.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, Republican

On social media, Scott celebrated the decision, saying he’d been calling for it for years.

“Raul Castro was behind the shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue, KILLING four innocent men, THREE of whom were American citizens,” Scott said. “He belongs behind bars for the rest of his life.”

Scott thanked Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, Republican

Donalds, a Republican from Naples who is running for Florida governor, said the indictment would “help secure long-awaited justice for the people of Cuba and Cuban Americans.”

“Extradite this murderous tyrant and have him stand trial in Florida so he can face the families of his many victims,” Donalds said on social media.

David Jolly, Democrat

Jolly, a former U.S. representative running to be Florida governor, said the indictment belongs to the families of Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, who died in the shootdown.

Jolly said the indictment was “long overdue” and that “today is a good day.”

“This is what accountability looks like,” Jolly said. “This is what the rule of law, applied without fear or political favor, is supposed to look like.”

“Justice delayed is still justice,” he said.

U.S. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar, Republicans

The Miami Cuban American representatives held a news conference on Wednesday ahead of the indictment announcement.

The group stood in front of a poster with pictures of captured and ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a picture of the killed Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and a picture of Castro, with text on it saying “PENDING.”

The representatives celebrated and repeated statements from Trump that Cuba would be “next” in the United States’ foreign interventions.

Elvira Salazar, at the news conference, said Castro didn’t have to end up like Maduro if he chose to step away from Cuba on his own.

Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Democrat

Buckhorn, Tampa’s mayor from 2011 to 2019, said the Castro indictment was long-overdue for the “decades of repression, political persecution and human rights abuses against the Cuban people.”

Buckhorn, who is running for mayor again, said Tampa has long been home to a “strong and proud Cuban-American community that understands the cost of tyranny and the value of freedom.”

“We stand with those continuing the fight for a free and democratic Cuba,” Buckhorn said.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Republican

Uthmeier was at Wednesday’s Miami news conference where the Department of Justice announced Castro’s indictment.

In a news release, Uthmeier said when he took office in 2025, he directed prosecutors to reopen a closed file on Castro. He said Florida has been working alongside the U.S. government on the issue.

“There can be no future for a free Cuba so long as the Castros and their criminal gang of thugs remain in power,” Uthmeier said Wednesday.

“We now have the leaders that will pursue that which is right and just, that I know,” he said. “So get ready, there’s more to come.”

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, Republican

Moody was also present at the Wednesday news conference announcing Castro’s indictment.

Moody slammed former President Joe Biden’s administration and other presidents for trying to “coddle” Cuba into freedom.

“But not this administration. They took the bold step of actually bringing accountability and understanding that accountability works,” Moody said.

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