WASHINGTON (AP) — Wednesday’s U.S. indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro is the latest salvo in the Trump administration’s months-long pressure campaign against the Caribbean island’s socialist-controlled government.Castro was charged for his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time.President Donald Trump has been escalating talk on regime change in Cuba after the military action in Venezuela early this year resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. In addition, a White House-ordered economic blockade has led to blackouts, food shortages and a collapse in economic activity across Cuba.The indictment comes amid rising tensions between Trump’s administration and Cuba’s government. Meanwhile, the U.S. is in the midst of an uneasy ceasefire in the U.S. war against Iran.Here’s a closer look at developments over the year between Cuba and the U.S.
Jan. 4A day after the operation in Venezuela that captured Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Cuba’s government was “in a lot of trouble,” as the president renewed calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland.
