By OSCAR CORRAL

  Jose Basulto, founder of the search and rescue group Brothers to the Rescue, filed a lawsuit Monday against Cuban leader Fidel Castro seeking damages for the
  shootdown of two planes in 1996 that killed four people.

  He is asking for at least $40 million in damages, which he said would be used to fund democratic movements in Cuba.

  ''I don't want a penny in compensation,'' Basulto said. ``I was waiting for the President to take action. Actions speak louder than words.''

  The lawsuit, filed on Basulto's behalf by public interest group Judicial Watch, was timed to coincide with President George W. Bush's visit to Miami to mark Cuba's
  centennial.

  Basulto said he wanted President Bush to encourage the U.S. Attorney in South Florida to indict Fidel Castro for murder in the shootdown.

  Basulto is a survivor of the Feb. 24, 1996 attack by Cuban Airforce fighter jets on three civilian rescue aircrafts operated by Brothers to the Rescue over the Florida
  Straits. Two planes were shot down, resulting in the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr; Mario De La Pena; Carlos Costa; and Pablo Morales.