The four murdered Americans were: Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña, and Armando Alejandre, Jr.
In a audio recording obtained (just last year) from a closed-door meeting of Communist Party officials held on June 21, 1996, Raul himself accepted responsibility:
"I made it clear that it [the decision] had to be decentralized if it was going to be effective, and five generals were given the authority."
But apparently, that was while his brother Fidel was the dictator-in-chief.
Now, with Raul as the dictator-in-chief, the regime seems to want to shift the responsibility back to Fidel, who is conveniently in ill-health.
According to NBC News, Ricardo Alarcon, president of Castro's "Parliament" said this week in Havana that:
"The order, the decision (to shoot down the planes) came from the highest level. Fidel Castro himself had said that publicly, that he was responsible for that decision."
Meanwhile, a U.S. grand jury indictment in 2003 charged two MIG pilots, Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez and Francisco Perez-Perez, and their commanding officer, Ruben Martinez Puente, with murder.
And one of the so-called "Cuban Five", Gerardo Hernandez, was convicted -- and is currently serving a double life-sentence -- for conspiracy to commit murder in this case.
It was always argued that General Raul Castro should have also been indicted in this case, as Minister of Defense.
He knows that, and thus -- the new blame game.
But justice will prevail.
