On May 20, Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel declared that the United States’ charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro are devoid of any legal basis and exist solely to justify military aggression against Cuba.
Diaz-Canel stated that the charges constitute “a political action with no legal basis. Her goal is only to fill in the dossier that they are fabricating to justify the reckless military aggression against Cuba.” He also warned that if the United States develops plans for military invasion, it “will provoke a bloodbath with consequences that cannot be estimated.”
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the charges against Raul Castro and others of conspiring to kill Americans. Blanche emphasized that these are the first such cases against Cuba’s top leadership in nearly 70 years, and that Raul Castro would be brought before an American court.
The charges reportedly reference a 1996 incident when Cuban fighter jets shot down two aircraft carrying immigrants from Cuba. Raul Castro, who is 94 years old, was the brother of Fidel Castro, who led Cuba from 1959 to 2008. Raul served as Cuba’s defense minister and president from 2008 to 2018.
