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The United States connected Wednesday (May 20, 2026) criminally indicted Cuba’s erstwhile person Raul Castro, fueling speculation that President Donald Trump volition effort to topple the communist state.
The Justice Department charged the influential erstwhile President implicit the deadly 1996 downing of 2 civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots.
The 94-year-old Castro, member of Fidel Castro, the precocious iconic U.S. nemesis who led the 1959 communist revolution, was accused of murder, conspiracy to termination Americans, and demolition of aircraft.
“We expect that helium volition amusement up present by his ain volition oregon by different mode and spell to prison,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a quality league successful Miami attended by cheering Cuban-Americans.
Mr. Trump antecedently seized connected a U.S. home indictment to warrant subject enactment successful January that toppled and seized Venezuela’s past President Nicolas Maduro, a staunch state of the Cuban authorities.
He called the indictment a “very important moment.”
But Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the U.S. enactment “no ineligible basis.”
The charges purpose to “add to the record they are fabricating to warrant the folly of a subject aggression against Cuba,” helium wrote connected X.
Five different Cubans were besides charged, including the aerial unit pilots who changeable down the planes.
Four radical died successful the 1996 incident, sending relations plummeting. Two decades later, Mr. Raul Castro joined past U.S. President Barack Obama successful an effort to reconcile.
Mr. Trump reversed Obama’s effort to amended relations and has been steadily tightening sanctions connected the island, already nether a US embargo astir continuously since the communist revolution.
‘New path’
Mr. Trump has repeatedly signalled that the Cuban authorities could beryllium adjacent aft Venezuela to autumn to U.S. pressure, and earlier this period adjacent said Washington would beryllium “taking over” the Caribbean island, astir 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”
In a video connection to the Cuban radical successful Spanish, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself a Cuban-American, accused the Havana enactment of theft, corruption and oppression.
“President Trump is offering a caller way betwixt the U.S. and a caller Cuba,” Mr. Rubio said.
“A caller Cuba wherever you person a existent accidental to take who governs your state and ballot to regenerate them if they are not doing a bully job.”
The U.S. ousting of Mr. Maduro has deed Cuba hard, cutting disconnected a proviso of escaped Venezuelan lipid to the island, which has been plunged into an economical crisis.
Mr. Rubio has dangled an connection of $100 cardinal successful assistance to Cuba if it takes steps to unfastened up.
“In the U.S., we are acceptable to unfastened a caller section successful the narration betwixt our radical and our countries,” Mr. Rubio said. “And, currently, the lone happening lasting successful the mode of a amended aboriginal are those who power your country.”
The indictment was announced connected the time that Cuban-Americans people Cuba’s independency from Spain.
At the Versailles restaurant, a historical gathering constituent for Miami’s Cuban diaspora, Francys Fabelo, a 67-year-old writer primitively from Cuba, said the assemblage has been waiting for specified charges against the Castros for decades.
“You don’t messiness with President Trump. I deliberation this is serious. We hope, the radical of Cuba hope, that this is serious,” she said.
The Cuban authorities emphasizes antithetic dates successful its humanities narrative, celebrating the triumph of Fidel Castro’s gyration connected January 1, 1959.
Diaz-Canel, successful his ain message, said that independency from Spain successful 1898 was marred by the Platt Amendment, the U.S. argumentation of forcing the close to intervene successful Cuba.
“Intervention, interference, dispossession, frustration: that is what May 20th signifies successful Cuba’s history,” helium wrote connected X.
