The United States has indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro, a senior Trump administration official confirmed. A federal grand jury in Florida indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro along with five other defendants, according to court filings made public Wednesday.
The charges mark a major escalation in a long-running US legal case tied to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft, an incident that killed four people and has remained a flashpoint in US-Cuba relations for decades.
Castro, 94, served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the shootdown before becoming president in 2008, following the illness of his brother Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro died in 2016.
The move comes as President Donald Trump continues to push for regime change in Cuba, where the Communist Party has held power since Fidel Castro led the 1959 revolution. Raúl Castro, Fidel’s younger brother, served as Cuba’s defense minister before taking over the presidency in 2008 after Fidel became ill. Fidel Castro died in 2016.
Castro stepped down as president in 2018 but remains a major political figure in Cuba’s ruling structure. He is 94.
The indictment is part of what officials described as part of a broader plan of criminal prosecutions by the Trump Justice Department against political adversaries abroad and at home. Historically, US indictments of foreign leaders have been rare.
Havana has not directly commented on the indictment. However, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on May 15: "Despite the (U.S.) embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty towards its socialist development,"
Born in 1931, Raul Castro was a key figure in the guerrilla movement that overthrew US-backed Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista and later helped repel the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. US officials have compared the case to prior actions involving other foreign leaders targeted by indictments, including former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The charges mark a major escalation in a long-running US legal case tied to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft, an incident that killed four people and has remained a flashpoint in US-Cuba relations for decades.
Castro, 94, served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the shootdown before becoming president in 2008, following the illness of his brother Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro died in 2016.
The move comes as President Donald Trump continues to push for regime change in Cuba, where the Communist Party has held power since Fidel Castro led the 1959 revolution. Raúl Castro, Fidel’s younger brother, served as Cuba’s defense minister before taking over the presidency in 2008 after Fidel became ill. Fidel Castro died in 2016.
Castro stepped down as president in 2018 but remains a major political figure in Cuba’s ruling structure. He is 94.
The indictment is part of what officials described as part of a broader plan of criminal prosecutions by the Trump Justice Department against political adversaries abroad and at home. Historically, US indictments of foreign leaders have been rare.
Havana has not directly commented on the indictment. However, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on May 15: "Despite the (U.S.) embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty towards its socialist development,"
Born in 1931, Raul Castro was a key figure in the guerrilla movement that overthrew US-backed Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista and later helped repel the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. US officials have compared the case to prior actions involving other foreign leaders targeted by indictments, including former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
