Washington, D.C., May 19, 2026 - One month before Cuban MiG aircraft shot down two unarmed Cessna planes off the island coast, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official cited “further taunting of the Cuban Government” by the Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) overflights and State Department concern about a “worst case scenario” in which “one of these days the Cubans will shoot down one of these planes and the FAA better have all its ducks in a row.” The declassified FAA email is one of several records on the shootdown published today by the National Security Archive.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47600558

On Eve of Raul Castro Indictment, Archive Posts Declassified FAA Documents on Events Leading to Shootdown of Cuban Exile Planes
FAA Emails Foresaw “Worst Case Scenario”
“One of these days the Cubans will shoot down one of these planes”

May 19, 2026

FAA emails, memos, and communications recorded concerns among high-level Clinton administration officials that repeated penetrations of Cuban airspace would eventually lead to a crisis if Cuba acted to protect its territorial integrity from provocative BTTR incursions. “A major fear is the possible downing of a BTTR aircraft by land-based gunfire,” a summary of an August 1995 meeting with White House officials stated.

The posting comes as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to indict Cuban leader Raul Castro for his role in the downing of the BTTR planes. At the time, General Castro served as minister of defense and was the highest officer in the military chain of command in Fidel Castro’s government. The documents offer a detailed historical context in which the aerial violence against the civilian aircraft occurred.