Washington, United States. Former Cuban President Raul Castro has been indicted in the United States on murder charges, court records showed on Wednesday, escalating Washington’s pressure campaign against Cuba’s communist government.
Indictment and response
Cuba’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Castro, 94, last appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month, and there is no evidence he has since left the island or that the government would allow him to be extradited.
U.S. allegations and expected basis
Details of the charges were not immediately available. A U.S. Justice Department official told Reuters last week, on the condition of anonymity, that the charges are expected to be based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.
Trump administration stance
The indictment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for regime change in Cuba, where Castro’s communists have been in charge since Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959. In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Trump called Cuba a “rogue state harboring hostile foreign military” and framed his administration’s actions as part of a broader effort to expand U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
“From the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment,” Trump said at a Coast Guard Academy event in New London, Connecticut.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday that the island does not represent a threat.
Broader context for U.S.-Cuba relations
The indictment marks a new low in relations between the longtime Cold War rivals. After taking power, Fidel Castro struck an alliance with the Soviet Union and seized U.S.-owned businesses and properties, and the United States has since maintained an economic embargo on the nation of about 10 million.
The two sides have talked intermittently over the years. Diplomatic relations briefly improved during former Democratic President Barack Obama’s second term, but Trump, a Republican, has taken a harder line.
How do you think the indictment could affect future U.S.-Cuba relations?