Thirty years after two planes went down over disputed waters, Washington has handed Havana exactly the narrative it needed — that this was never about justice, but about empire building a case for war.

May 20, 2026 — They announced the indictment at the Freedom Tower in Miami — and the symbolism was not accidental. That building, where Cuban refugees were once processed upon arrival to American shores, was chosen for maximum theatrical effect: a reminder of exile pain, Cuban-American political solidarity, and decades of grievance weaponised into law.