A US federal grand jury has indictedthree Cubans for murder in connection with the 1996 shoot-downof two small private planes near Cuba in which fourCuban-American crew members were killed, the US Attorney'soffice in Miami said today.
A statement from the US Attorney's Office named thoseindicted as Mr Ruben Martinez Puente, who was the head of theCuban air force at the time of the shoot-down, and Mr LorenzoAlberto Perez Perez and Mr Francisco Perez Perez, who were Cubanair force pilots at the time of the shoot-down.
The indictment charged them with one count of conspiracy tokill US nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft, andfour counts of murder. Maximum penalties if the men wereconvicted would be life imprisonment or the death penalty.