MIAMI -- The pressure will once again be on the U.S. attorney to present a case to a grand jury.

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The case: indictment of Fidel and Raul Castro in the shoot down of two Brothers to the Rescue airplanes in 1996.

Since the incident, which saw four members of the humanitarian group blown out of the sky by Cuban MIGs, local Cuban exiles have urged the federal government to act. It has been the personal crusade of Jose Basulto, co-founder of Brothers to the Rescue, who was piloting a third aircraft that escaped the MIG attack that day.

In 1996 Fidel Castro told then-CBS anchorman Dan Rather that he provided the general guidelines for a shootdown. Now, in an audiotape said to have been recorded several months after the shootdown, Raul Castro says he provided the organization and authorization to accomplish what exiles consider an ambush.

In January of 1996, Brothers to the Rescue flew their aircraft to high altitude north of Havana and dropped thousands of leaflets. Many of them fell into the city. The Cuban government has always claimed the group actually flew over the city. According to the tape released to El Nuevo Herald, after the January event the Castro brothers cemented the plan for a shootdown.

On the tape Raul Castro can be heard saying: "So I told them to knock them down at sea when they appeared and do not consult with me." He detailed how he gave his generals permission to act on their own. The shootdown came over international waters. The Castro brothers maintain the Cessnas were in Cuban airspace.

The U.S. attorney’s office brought charges and obtained indictments against the Cuban pilots who flew the shootdown mission. Also included was General Ruben Martinez Puente who commanded the pilots.

When asked about Raul Castro and Fidel Castro the then sitting U.S. attorney would only say, "The investigation continues."

Lawyer advocates for Jose Basulto will be visiting with the U.S. attorney sometime this week. Family members of those who died have close ties to prosecutors. They too will surely weigh in on the Raul tape. The heat will be on to bring the case of Raul and Fidel to a grand jury.

But I offer you a word of caution. NBC 6 has not independently verified whether or not the tape is authentic. The same holds true for the circumstances that brought the tape to publication.

In addition, the timing of the release is interesting. The question is, whose interest does it serve?

I was taught long ago that when covering the U.S./Cuba story to always be aware that "nothing is as it seems."