It's Friday, May the 22nd, 2026, and this is Denison Forum's Daily Article podcast.

Welcome. I'm narrator, Chris Elkins, voicing today's daily article written by senior theology editor, Dr. Ryan Denison.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced that it was charging Raoul Castro, the 94-year-old

former leader of Cuba, with murder and conspiracy to kill American citizens. The allegations stem

from Castro's role in authorizing the Cuban military to shoot down two American planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.

Brothers to the Rescue was a group that helped fleeing Cubans find their way to the United States

and also routinely dropped anti-regime pamphlets across the island nation's border.

The group had a long history with the Cuban government,

and the indictment against Castro claims that the regime planted spies within brothers to the

rescue who relayed the group's flight plans. They were purportedly told not to fly with the group

in the days prior to the attack, indicating that the government's decision to shoot down those planes was premeditated.

The attack took place over international waters, though the Cuban government claimed the group had violated their airspace prior to the attack

and destroyed two of the three aircraft that were being used in the mission.

The third was able to return to Florida safely, and the organization's members have long fought to hold Castro and others accountable for what happened.

Several lower-level figures were arrested, but Castro remained untouched because the Clinton administration was afraid of what would happen if they indicted such a high-profile world leader.

The fact that they had no clear way to extradite the Cuban leader against his will

also played a role in their decision.

Unfortunately, for Castro, however, that no longer appears to be the case.

When United States acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke to the media about the indictment, he quipped that,

quote, there was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here by his own

will or another way, end quote. And it's not hard to guess what that other way might entail.

That the U.S. would look to bring charges against Castro 30 years after the

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