Former Cuban President Raúl Castro has been indicted in the United States, according to a senior Trump administration official, marking a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Havana.
The indictment, expected to be formally unsealed by the US Department of Justice, is linked to allegations surrounding the 1996 shootdown of aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, which resulted in the deaths of four people. At the time, Castro was Cuba’s defence minister.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana, with US President Donald Trump intensifying pressure on Cuba’s communist government, which has ruled the country since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.
The indictment is part of what officials describe as a broader strategy to hold Cuban leaders accountable, drawing comparisons to previous legal actions against other adversaries of the United States, including Venezuela’s leadership.
Castro, now 94, served as Cuba’s defence minister before becoming president in 2008 following the illness of his brother, Fidel Castro. He stepped down from the presidency in 2018 but is still considered an influential figure within Cuba’s political establishment.
Cuba has not issued an official statement on the indictment. However, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla has previously defended the country’s stance, saying:
“Despite the embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty towards its socialist development.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has also warned against escalation, stating that any US military action would lead to a “bloodbath,” while insisting the island poses no threat to the United States.
Born in 1931, Raúl Castro was a key figure in the Cuban revolution alongside his brother Fidel and played a central role in consolidating the communist government that followed the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
The indictment represents one of the most direct legal actions taken by the United States against a former Cuban head of state in decades, underscoring the sharp deterioration in relations between Washington and Havana.
Boluwatife Enome
