Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump
floats 'friendly takeover'
[March 07, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and JOSHUA GOODMAN
MIAMI (AP) — The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is
considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials,
according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as
President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly
takeover" of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of
Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors
and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other
agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban
government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They
spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is
targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal
prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice,
which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly
aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the U.S. capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was
in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly
takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his
attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national
security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the U.S.
Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life
is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was
instrumental in the arrest of former U.S. Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha
on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the
1970s.
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A ferry crosses Havana Bay past the Nico Lopez oil refinery where a
Cuban tanker is anchored in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida
Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen
its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes
operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria
Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news
reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of
Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the
unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this
heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought
to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s
attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level
investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating
with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North
Korea and Iran to a select few nations the U.S. considers state
sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of U.S. fugitives and
its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they
were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
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Richer reported from Washington.
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