Today, in this urgent appeal, Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) invites the exile community and its pro-democracy organizations, to act together on a specific action plan.

We also respectfully ask President George W. Bush to convert, into actions, his recent words and his expressed desire for a democratic Cuba by removing the political obstacles to the indictment.

DEFRAUDING DEMOCRACY

Fidel Castro hopes to extend the tenure of the Castro dictatorship by naming Raul Castro as his successor upon his death or incapacity.

For the regime to attain this succession of power in a stable and lasting manner, a cosmetic change, including an apparent inclusion of the opposition forces, has to take place. An image of legitimacy is the desired end product.

A fraudulent coalition of virtual political representation favoring the succession of the regime through Raul Castro, can be successfully arranged, if it is joined by a group of carefully "selected" members of the exile community and a number of willing participants that can be recruited from, or that have already been planted in, the internal opposition.

In order to succeed, this plan of succession will require active support and recognition from the U.S. government. The new "transition government", as they will call it, will not be significantly different from the current regime.

This plan, however, cannot succeed if Raul Castro is criminally indicted in the U.S. This would make it impossible for the U.S. to recognize Raul Castro as a legitimate future head of state, worthy of recognition or any kind of U.S. financial support.

The long overdue criminal indictment of Raul Castro, by a U.S. Federal Court, can ensure that this plan of succession does not occur.

A well documented act of international terrorism: The murder of the Brothers to the Rescue pilots, ordered by Raul Castro as the head of the armed forces, can serve as sufficient grounds for the indictment. Numerous other crimes against humanity, and drug traffic participation can provide additional counts.

Today we propose:

1. A joint effort, to be undertaken by all pro democracy organizations, to obtain the criminal indictment of Raul Castro, by a U.S Federal Court. The U.S. Attorney’s office has the responsibility and the jurisdiction to bring an indictment against Raul Castro for the BTTR shootdown as well as the drug trafficking matters.

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2. To provide a financial incentive by creating a fund to compensate the individuals and/or the entities whose efforts bring about the indictment.
3. To set in motion the necessary vehicle to guaranty the payment of the funds once the objectives have been obtained.
4. A cooperative effort to be undertaken by all participants, to seek U.S. Government support of the plan and a clear and unambiguous show of good faith, beyond words, towards democracy in Cuba.

BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE (BTTR) and its president Jose J. Basulto (JJB), reiterates the public pledge he made on 8/21/03, that he will, upon obtaining the funds granted to him pursuant to a Federal court judgment against the government of Cuba, on January 19, 2005, make $1,000,000.00 available to compensate those individuals or entities whose efforts bring about the indictment of Raul Castro.

A board of trustees, already selected for the trust, will be responsible for all decisions pertaining to the use of the funds, and will also set the conditions for the award(s).