Summary
- Indictment escalates Washington pressure on Cuba
- Charges relate to 1996 incident when planes were shot down
- Rubio offers $100 million aid in parallel
- Cuban President calls indictment a ‘political maneuver’
US Charges Raúl Castro with Murder as Trump Escalates Pressure on Cuba
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, 25 May 2026
Jack Queen | Reuters - TRANSCEND Media Service
‘It is Barack Obama (above, with Raul Castro) who has made the big concession to reality by simply recognising that Cuba is now an independent nation.’ Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
20 May 2026 – The United States announced murder charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro on Wednesday, a major escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against the island’s communist government.
The indictment marks a new low in relations between the longtime Cold War rivals and comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for regime change in Cuba, where Castro’s communists have been in charge since his late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.
The charges against Castro and five fighter pilots in the Cuban military stem from a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.
Raúl Castro, 94, was charged with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. He appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month and there is no evidence he has left the island or that he will be extradited.
It is rare for the U.S. to file criminal charges against foreign leaders. The indictment was the latest example of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to expand U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
“From the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment,” Trump said at a Coast Guard Academy event in New London, Connecticut, earlier on Wednesday.
Speaking at a ceremony in Miami to honor the victims of the 1996 incident, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not directly answer questions about whether the U.S. military would arrest Castro.
Blanche said he expected Castro to one day face the charges.
“There was a warrant issued for his arrest, so we expect that he will show up here by his own will or by another way,” Blanche said to applause in a packed auditorium of government officials and Cuban Americans.
In a post on X, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Cuba had acted legitimately to defend its territory in shooting down the planes. He said the indictment appeared to be intended to justify military action against Cuba, which he said would be a mistake.
“It is a political maneuver, devoid of any legal foundation,” Diaz-Canel said.
Diaz-Canel said on Monday that the island does not represent a threat.
The charges come months after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3 to face drug trafficking charges in New York.
Maduro, a socialist aligned with Havana, pleaded not guilty.
TRUMP ASSERTS US INFLUENCE IN LATIN AMERICA
Washington’s more assertive role in Latin America, epitomized by the capture of Maduro, is shaping up to be a significant part of the legacy of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who is seen as a possible contender for the 2028 Republican nomination for president.
His chief Republican rival to succeed Trump, Vice President JD Vance, is a former Marine who has long argued against U.S. entanglements in foreign wars.
Under Trump, the U.S. has effectively imposed a blockade on Cuba by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, triggering power outages and exacerbating its worst crisis in decades.
Rubio earlier on Wednesday offered Cuba $100 million in aid, and blamed Cuba’s leaders for shortages of electricity, food and fuel. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called that offer cynical, citing the “devastating effect” of the economic blockade.
CUBA DEFENDS DOWNING OF PLANES
Born in 1931, Raúl Castro was a key figure alongside his older brother in the guerrilla war that toppled U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
After taking power, Fidel Castro struck an alliance with the Soviet Union, then seized U.S.-owned businesses and properties. The U.S. has since maintained an economic embargo on the nation of about 10 million.
Raúl Castro helped defeat the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, and served as defense minister for decades. He succeeded his brother as president in 2008 and stepped down in 2018, but remains a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in Cuban politics.
He was defense minister at the time of the 1996 incident, in which two small planes operated by Miami-based Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue were shot down, killing those aboard.
The group said its mission was to search for Cuban rafters fleeing the island. Fidel Castro said Cuba’s military had acted on “standing orders” to down planes entering Cuban airspace. He said Raúl Castro did not give a specific order to shoot the planes.
The International Civil Aviation Organization later concluded the shootdown took place over international waters.Portraits of the four men who were killed – Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales – were displayed at the ceremony as Blanche and other officials spoke.
Cuban-Americans gathered outside Miami’s Freedom Tower, which served as a refugee center for Cubans in the 1960s, before the ceremony began.
“We all hoped for a long time, for many years that this would happen,” said Bobby Ramirez, a 62-year-old musician who left Cuba in 1971 when he was seven years old.
___________________________________________________
Jack Queen covers major lawsuits against the Trump administration involving urgent questions of executive power and how their resolution could affect the law and the legal profession in the years to come. Previously, he covered criminal and civil cases against Trump during the interim of his presidential terms, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of his historic hush money trial in New York and his civil fraud trial, which ended in a half-billion-dollar judgment. Jack has also covered high-profile defamation cases including the Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News, which settled for $787 million after intense pretrial litigation. Based in New York, he specializes in breaking news as well as analysis, explainers and other explanatory reporting.Reporting by Jana Winter in Washington and Jack Queen in Miami;
Additional reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona in Miami,
Ayose Naranjo in Havana,
Doina Chiacu, Andrew Goudsward and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff in Washington,
Brendan O’Boyle and Natalia Siniawski in Mexico City,
and by Jonathan Stempel and Michelle Nichols in New York;
Writing by Luc Cohen;
Editing by Noeleen Walder, Nick Zieminski, Rosalba O’Brien, Daniel Wallis and Sanjeev Miglani.
Tags: Anti-hegemony, Anti-imperialism, Blockade, Bullying, CIA, Collective Punishment, Crimes against Humanity, Cuba, Evil empire, Famine, Hegemony, Hunger, Imperialism, Inhuman Punishment, Invasion, Latin America Caribbean, North America, Official Lies and Narratives, Raul Castro, Sovereignty, State Terrorism, US empire, USA
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
One Response to “US Charges Raúl Castro with Murder as Trump Escalates Pressure on Cuba”
Join the discussion!
We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.
Read more
Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:
Open Letter to The Editorial Board and Contributors of Transcend Media Service
Subject: A Respectful Appeal for Collective Moral Agency Beyond Commentary and TMS Publications.
Dear Esteemed Professors, Senior Members and Founders of Global Peace Organisations, Editorial Board Members, Scholars, “Moral Heirarchists” and Contributors to Transcend Media Service.
I read your publications in the recent issues of TMS, noting a thread of commonality expressed in support of the ongoing plight of Palestinians. I commend your stance. Thank you for accepting my second appeal, appended as an open plea, to engage in a collective effort to highlight the problem of ongoing suffering, torture and genocide of 72,764+ Palestinians, with over 10,000 reportedly vapourised by the collective allies of Israel. The global silence is indeed abysmal, in this major humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.
With humility and deep respect for the intellectual legacy of TMS, founded on the principles of peace journalism and the visionary work of Professor Johan Galtung (MHSRIEP), I write to you as a fellow contributor, committed to the shared pursuit of justice, dignity, peace and global harmony. I trust that in your frenetic schedules you will kindly read this document with good intentions.
Recent reports published within TMS, including those addressing the plight of flotilla activists and the ongoing suffering of Palestinian civilians, reflect the moral clarity and courage that have long defined this platform. These contributions illuminate injustice with scholarly rigour and human compassion.
Yet, I write today with a gentle but earnest question:
Can we, as a community, move from witnessing to collective moral action?
In March 2026, I submitted a draft memorandum proposing that TMS, as a body of globally respected thinkers and “Titans of Peace Propagation” consider endorsing an urgent humanitarian appeal to the United Nations. The intention was not to impose unanimity, but to explore whether our shared ethical commitments might find expression in a unified call for:
• immediate ceasefire measures,
• protection of civilians,
• The targeted killings of journalists
• Blatant violations of the different Geneva Conventions
• accountability under international law,
• and renewed multilateral engagement through the United Nations system.
I fully appreciate that TMS is not traditionally an advocacy institution, and that editorial independence is essential to its integrity. However, I respectfully submit that:
There are moments in history when moral scholarship may justifiably seek a collective voice.
The events currently unfolding, whether involving flotilla activists, civilian populations, or broader regional instability in the Middle East, pose profound challenges not only to international law, but to our shared humanity.
I wish to clarify that this appeal is not a criticism of editorial decisions, nor an expectation of institutional uniformity. Rather, it is an invitation:
An invitation to individual conscience
Should a collective institutional endorsement be impractical, perhaps an alternative path may be considered:
• voluntary endorsement of the memorandum by individual contributors,
• publication of parallel perspectives exploring actionable peace mechanisms,
• or informal cooperation toward engaging established UN humanitarian channels.
TMS has long illuminated the path toward peace.
Might it now, in some form, help to gently walk that path together?
I remain deeply grateful, appreciative and indebted for the platform TMS provides, under the editorial baton of the long serving and esteemed Professor Antonio Carlos Siva Rosa, as well as for the tireless efforts of its editorial Board and contributors. My intention is not to burden, but to contribute, however modestly, to the living tradition of peace through scholarship and ethical engagement, which forms the very basic tenets of peace propagation, as initiated by the late Professor Johan Galtung (MHSRIEP)
With respect, sincerity, solidarity and hope,
Hoosen Vawda
Peace Propagator
Durban, South Africa
Global: + 27 82 291 4546
e-mail: vawda@ukzn.ac.za
Dated: Tuesday 26th May 2026
Reference: TMS/Cont/26052026/RHV1