Published Friday, November 6, 1:05 p.m. ET (1:05 p.m. Havana) · Source: U.S. Department of Justice statements, public court record
The prosecutor whose office pursued the case against Raúl Castro is leaving his post, and no successor has been named. Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, resigned on Friday, November 6, 2026.
His Miami-based office brought the federal case against Cuba’s former leader, one of the biggest moves in Cuba news this year. Todd Blanche, who heads the Justice Department, announced the exit but gave no reason.
This story is part of our coverage of the cuba news. Dates, times and how to follow it are in our guide.
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A U.S. attorney is the top federal prosecutor for one region of the country. The Southern District of Florida covers Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community, so its prosecutor sits at the centre of U.S. legal action against Havana.
A Departure With No Reason Given
Blanche praised Reding Quiñones for his work against violent crime, trafficking and transnational criminal groups. His statement offered no explanation.
Reding Quiñones, in his own post on X, thanked President Donald Trump. He called serving as U.S. attorney “the privilege of a lifetime.”
The exit follows another. The Justice Department announced on Thursday, November 5, that Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who led its Civil Rights Division, was leaving.
Nothing published so far links the two departures.
File photo: the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, a landmark of the city’s Cuban exile community.The Castro Case He Leaves Behind
Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against Raúl Castro on May 20, 2026. It charges Castro, who is 95 and was Cuba’s defense minister in the 1990s, along with five other Cuban officials.
The charges concern February 24, 1996, when, prosecutors allege, Cuban military jets shot down two planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami group that searched the sea for Cubans fleeing by boat. Four men were killed.
Reding Quiñones oversaw that prosecution. Castro remains in Cuba, and the Cuban government has denied the U.S. account.
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A Second Investigation Under Strain
His office also houses the so-called grand conspiracy investigation, run from Fort Pierce, a city on Florida’s east coast. It examines whether former intelligence officials under two Democratic administrations conspired to keep Trump out of office, and whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress.
The probe has produced no charges establishing the alleged overarching conspiracy. Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, quit it in September after disagreements with the office of the deputy attorney general, the Justice Department’s second-in-command.
Kurt Olsen, a former White House attorney, has also left. Earlier this year the lead career prosecutor was sidelined after raising concerns about the evidence.
In late October Blanche said Reding Quiñones “always has been in charge” of the probe. On departures, he said “people leave and stay all the time.”
What It Means for US Readers
For Americans watching Cuba policy, the Miami office is where sanctions pressure meets criminal law. A new leader could keep the Castro case on track or reorder priorities; the Justice Department has not said which.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket’s contract on whether Castro is in U.S. custody by December 31 stood at 2.8% on November 6 at 12:58 p.m. ET. Trading in that date is thin: about US$35,000 has changed hands on it, within US$830,000 across the full series.
A separate Polymarket contract on whether Cuba’s government falls in 2026 stood at 2.5%, with US$1.86 million traded.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
No reason for the resignation has been given, and no successor named. It is unclear whether the Castro case or the grand conspiracy probe will change hands.
For background, see our explainers on Cuba–US tensions and on the Raúl Castro indictment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jason Reding Quiñones?
He was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the top federal prosecutor for the Miami region. He resigned on November 6, 2026.
Why did he resign?
No reason has been given. Todd Blanche, who heads the Justice Department, announced the departure and praised his record.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice announcements; U.S. District Court indictment, unsealed May 20, 2026; Polymarket public market data, read November 6, 2026.