The charges in the deadly downing of two jets in 1996, likely to remain symbolic, come as the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on Cuba.

The Justice Department was expected to announce a criminal case Wednesday against former Cuban President Raúl Castro as the Trump administration escalates pressure on the socialist government, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The US Justice Department has indicted Cuba's former leader, Raul Castro, on criminal charges. The allegations centre on a Cuban military offensive against US civilian aircraft in 1996. The planes were operated by an organisation called Brothers to the Rescue and were searching for people who wanted to leave the island,

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against Castro stemming from the 1996 downing of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles.

The indictment was related to Castro’s alleged role in the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. (AP video by Cody Jackson)

Emotional crowds gathered at Miami’s Freedom Tower and Versailles Restaurant on Wednesday as Cuban Americans celebrated the indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

The Trump administration is expected to announce criminal charges ⁠against ⁠former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday, ⁠in a move that would mark a step-up in Washington's pressure campaign against the Caribbean island's communist government.

The US has charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals and other crimes over the downing of two planes between Cuba and Florida in 1996. The case unveiled on Wednesday – a revival of charges originally from 2003 – accuses Castro and five others of shooting down aircraft belonging to Cuban American group Brothers to the Rescue and killing four people,