The United States on Wednesday announced a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, the former president of Cuba, along with five other people, marking a significant intensification of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the communist regime that has been in place for six decades.
The 94-year-old political leader faces charges in Miami, Florida, including conspiracy to murder US nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of aircraft destruction, as detailed in court documents acquired by CBS.
Among the other defendants is a fighter pilot who was previously charged in relation to a 1996 event where four men were killed by the Cuban military when their planes were shot down during a humanitarian mission in the Florida Straits.
It is alleged that Castro ordered the attack to commence.
Raúl Castro: 5 things to know about his indictment
- The indictment comes at a time of increased tension between the United States and Cuba, as Donald Trump has issued threats of military intervention against the Cuban government. Additionally, an energy crisis, exacerbated by a stringent US oil embargo, has led to rolling blackouts and sparked protests in the capital.
- Miami’s Freedom Tower, which served as a processing center for over half a million Cuban refugees fleeing Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution between 1962 and 1974, offered a significant backdrop for the announcement.
- Raúl Castro is reported to have sanctioned the shooting down of two small aircraft on 24 February 1996, which belonged to the Miami-based volunteer group Brothers to the Rescue, composed of exiles who searched the 90 miles of ocean between Cuba and the Florida Keys for refugees. The incident resulted in the deaths of four individuals: Armando Alejandre Jr, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, whose Cessnas were struck by missiles launched from MiG fighter jets of the Cuban air force.
- Raúl Castro resigned from the presidency in 2018 and stepped down as secretary of Cuba’s communist party three years later; however, he continues to be one of the most influential figures in Cuban politics. Fidel Castro passed away in 2016 at the age of 90.
- It remains unclear whether he will ever be brought before a US court to respond to the allegations.
Marco Rubio sends message to people of Cuba
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, shared a message directed towards the Cuban populace on X. He conveyed his thoughts in Spanish, stating: “The reason you are forced to survive without electricity is not due to an oil blockade by America.
“No electricity, fuel or food is because the people who control it have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.”
Cuba reacts to Marco Rubio’s post
Carlos Cossio, the deputy minister of foreign affairs for Cuba, addressed the matter in a post of his own on X.
“The reason why the US secretary of state lies so repeatedly and unscrupulously when referring to Cuba and trying to justify the aggression imposed on the Cuban people is not ignorance or incompetence,” he wrote.
“He knows well that there is no excuse for such a cruel and ruthless aggression.”
