Havana (AFP) – Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel Castro and the last surviving cast member of the Cuban revolution, relinquished power in 2021 but remains an influential figure in national politics.
Issued on: 20/05/2026 - 20:36
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In a further spike in US-Cuba tensions, a court in Florida on Wednesday unsealed an indictment against the 94-year-old and charged him with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying aircraft.The charges relate to the downing of US civilian planes by Cuban forces on February 24, 1996.Raul lived for decades in brother Fidel's shadow before emerging as a pragmatic leader who initiated much-needed reforms in Cuba without ever abandoning allegiance to the one-party state.The revolutionary leader still follows Washington-Havana negotiations "very closely" and takes part in "decision-making," his daughter Mariela Castro told AFP in April.Brothers in armsRaul took over from Fidel in 2006 and led the communist island-nation for the next 15 years.He still makes occasional public appearances, increasingly frail but always dressed in his military uniform.During the most recent on May 1, at a rally in front of the US embassy in Havana, he had to sit down before the ceremony's conclusion.Castro was born on June 3, 1931 in a village in eastern Cuba, the fourth of seven children raised by a Spanish father, Angel Castro, and a Cuban mother, Lina Ruz.
