Havana (AFP) – Cubans expressed their shock and indignation after the United States indicted former president Raul Castro on murder charges, a stunning new step in President Donald Trump's pressure on the communist state.
Issued on: 21/05/2026 - 12:30
3 min Reading time
The charges against the ex-leader -- who at 94 years old remains influential in Cuban politics -- have fuelled speculation that Trump will try to topple the crisis-hit island, culminating a US pressure campaign which has imposed months of crippling oil blockades.Authorities in Cuba and abroad slammed the indictment, the latest step-up in Trump's international interventions after the Iran war, the US toppling of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and threats against Greenland.The charges against Raul Castro -- younger brother of Fidel Castro, the late iconic US nemesis who led Cuba's communist revolution that culminated in 1959 -- stem from the deadly downing of two civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots in 1996.
Cubans have suffered power outages of up to 20 hours a day and taps running dry © YAMIL LAGE / AFP
