OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - A former Brothers to the Rescue pilot and several Cuban exiles gathered at the newly renovated Bay of Pigs museum, where they celebrated the Department of Justice unsealing the indictment of Raúl Castro for his role in shooting down two planes during a humanitarian mission in 1996.
The indictment was a moment that was three decades in the making for Ray Martinez, a former pilot for Brothers to the Rescue who knew the four men killed by Cuba.
Martinez was emotional hearing about Castro’s indictment as he looked back at a photo depicting himself alongside Mario de la Peña and Carlos Costa, two of the victims aboard those planes.
“Finally, not only, like I said, for the boys, not only for them, but for our parents because our parents and all the families that left Cuba, they had to abandon their families there. Everything that they owned and everything that they started living for to come to a different country,” said Martinez.
Several members of South Florida’s Cuban exile community echoed similar sentiments at Miami’s Bay of Pigs Museum, some of whom were part of Brigade 2506 that carried out the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
Wednesday’s announcement, which landed on Cuba’s 124th Independence Day, was a move many said they never though they’d live to witness.
“Despite the power that that [Castro] continues to exhale, under law he is now called a criminal,” said Nestor Carbonell Cortina, a member of Brigade 2506.
As a member of Brigade 2506, Cortina helped carry out the attempted invasion that ultimately failed.
His trip to the museum this year, along with many others, was marked with joy after Castro’s indictment.
“Sixty-five years ago, they went and risked their lives for freedom in Cuba,” said Carlos Luis, the museum’s president. “As the wall behind me shows, they lost 104 of their brothers , and so, this is Cuba’s Independence Day, so they hope that today’s announcement is just the start of some type of freedom in Cuba.”
Brigade 2506 also issued a statement regarding the indictment, which reads in part:
“Brigade 2506 reiterates today that there will be no true peace in Cuba on in the Hemisphere as long as a dictatorship exists in the heart of the Americas that denies freedom to the Cuban people and threatens the peace and security of its neighbors.”
While many across South Florida have a renewed spark of hope for freedom in Cuba, some acknowledge that a lot more still has to happen for that dream to become a reality.
“The fight’s not over, just because we have an indictment. We need to continue to push and push and push until we have all of the Castro’s regime not only out of Cuba, but paying the price for all their crimes against humanity,” said Luis.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he expects Castro to stand trial for his charges in the United States. Whether that occurs through extradition or forced regime change remains unclear.
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