US Files Charges Against Former Cuban Leader Raul Castro
The charges, announced Wednesday, accuse Castro of authorizing the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by anti-communist Cuban exile activists near Cuban airspace. Four Cuban-Americans were killed in the incident. Cuban authorities had previously maintained that the planes were linked to the US military and said warnings had been issued before the aircraft were shot down.
The indictment was revealed shortly before a memorial event in Miami connected to the attack. Castro, now 94 years old, along with five former Cuban officials, faces accusations including conspiracy to kill US nationals, aircraft destruction, and four murder charges tied to the deaths in the incident.
In remarks released earlier in the day, President Donald Trump stated that “America will not tolerate a rogue state harboring hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations just ninety miles from the American homeland.”
The legal action came amid growing tensions between Washington and Havana. Earlier this week, according to reports, US intelligence officials claimed Cuba had obtained hundreds of military drones allegedly intended for potential operations targeting the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay and areas including Key West, Florida. Cuban officials dismissed the accusations, calling them a “fraudulent case” intended to justify possible military intervention.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have repeatedly warned Cuba of possible military consequences in recent months. After the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, Washington imposed severe energy restrictions on Cuba, with Trump later declaring that “Cuba is next.”
On Wednesday, the Pentagon also announced the arrival of the USS Nimitz carrier strike group in the Caribbean, a deployment that reports compared to the military buildup that preceded operations against Maduro.
The Justice Department had similarly filed charges against Maduro before US special forces carried out a raid in Caracas. ([New York Post][1])
[1]: "Ex-Cuba leader Raul Castro, 94, charged with murder, conspiracy to kill Americans in 1996 shootdown of humanitarian planes"
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