HIALEAH, FL [May 20, 2026] — Today’s announcement speaks directly to a deep wound in our community. The families of Armando Alejandre, Mario de la Peña, Carlos Costa, and Pablo Morales have waited three decades to see a clear move toward accountability for what happened in that sky. Many people tried to downplay or confuse that crime over the years. The facts never changed. Those four men were killed, and the order came from a regime that treated their lives as expendable.
If this moment is going to mean anything, it has to be understood as more than a legal move against Raúl Castro. The problem goes further than one individual. The problem is an entire structure of power in Cuba that has ruled through fear, censorship, and violence for more than six decades. As long as that structure remains in place, there will be no real justice for Brothers to the Rescue and no real freedom for the Cuban people.
The City of Hialeah supports strong and sustained pressure on the regime from the United States and from our allies. When it comes to holding those who continue to profit from the repression of the Cuban people, all options are on the table. The goal cannot be managed ‘reform’ that keeps the same faces and the same security apparatus in place. The goal has to be a complete democratic transition that removes the Castro communist system and allows for free elections, free speech, and a government that answers to its citizens, not the dictatorship.
The families of the four men killed in 1996 deserve to see that the world has not moved on. The people of Cuba deserve more than a change of slogans. They deserve the end of the regime that took those lives and has taken so many others in silence. This indictment should be a beginning, not a curtain call, in the effort to finally bring about a free Cuba.
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About the City of Hialeah
The City of Hialeah, incorporated in 1925, is the sixth largest municipality in Florida, serving more than 233,000 residents across approximately 20 square miles. Located in northwest Miami-Dade County, Hialeah has a Hispanic population of more than 94 percent. Known to many as “The City of Progress,” Hialeah is home to a large Cuban exile community and a diverse population that has shaped the city’s culture and traditions. The City of Hialeah is a full-service municipality providing quality and affordable services to residents of all ages and abilities. Hialeah is a vibrant, family-oriented community with a strong small business sector, where many locally owned businesses compete alongside national retail and restaurant chains.