Cuba Celebrates Raúl Castro After the U.S. Accuses Him of Murder

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/world/americas/cuba-raul-castro-murder-indictment.html

#Video - DOJ Indicts Raúl Castro, But Can’t Explain Why Now, 30 Years After the Fact
https://peertube.world/w/bKKCDhvynradRkaTmM4TLu

[from the #news collective #BellyOfTheBeast]
Duration - 1:42

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed an indictment charging former Cuban President #RaúlCastro, now 94 years old, along with 5 other Cuban officials, over the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian aircraft belonging to #BrothersToTheRescue in which four people died.

At a press conference announcing the case, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced several key questions about the indictment, including why it took three decades to bring charges against Castro.

“I cannot explain or justify why now as opposed to two decades ago or 30 years ago when it happened,” Blanche said.

Another major question remains unresolved: how the #US plans to bring the 94-year-old #Cuban leader to trial from a country that has no extradition treaty with Washington.

#USHandsOffCuba
#news #politics #USpol #Cuba

Cuban Pilot in Florida Is a Defendant in Raúl Castro Indictment

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/world/americas/pilot-charged-raul-castro-indictment.html

Raúl Castro’s Indictment and Washington’s Double Standard on Terrorism
https://belly-of-the-beast.kit.com/posts/raul-castro-s-indictment-and-washington-s-double-standard-on-terrorism

[weekly newsletter about #Cuba (with YouTube #video links) from the #BellyOfTheBeast #news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

May 20, 2026

The Justice Department is set to indict former Cuban President #RaúlCastro today over the 1996 shoot-down of two #BrothersToTheRescue planes — a case that has been a politically charged flashpoint in US-Cuba relations for nearly three decades.

So far, the coverage by corporate media outlets has left out critical context: repeated provocations and incursions, numerous warnings by Cuban authorities, years of violent attacks against Cuba originating from South Florida and the #US government’s refusal to restrain an extremist group openly seeking confrontation.

#OilForCuba!
#EndTheBlockadeEmbargo
#CubaSolidarity
#LetCubaLive
#EndSanctionsAgainstCuba #OffTheList
#LatinAmerica #Caribbean
#politics #USpol #USA

Cuba: Declassified Records on the #BrothersToTheRescue Shootdown
On Eve of #RaulCastro Indictment, Archive Posts Declassified #FAA Documents on Events Leading to Shootdown of Cuban Exile Planes
FAA Emails Foresaw “Worst Case Scenario”
“One of these days the Cubans will shoot down one of these planes”
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cuba/2026-05-19/cuba-declassified-records-brothers-rescue-shootdown?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=d794cf42-039a-4428-9001-59f971d1dfce

from #NationalSecurityArchive
May 19, 2026

FAA emails, memos, and communications recorded concerns among high-level Clinton administration officials that repeated penetrations of Cuban airspace would eventually lead to a crisis if #Cuba acted to protect its territorial integrity from provocative BTTR incursions. “A major fear is the possible downing of a BTTR aircraft by land-based gunfire,” a summary of an August 1995 meeting with White House officials stated.

The documents offer a detailed historical context in which the aerial violence against the civilian aircraft occurred.

#NoWarOnCuba
#OilForCuba!
#EndTheBlockadeEmbargo
#news #politics #USpol #US

US Readies Raúl Castro Indictment, Escalating Pressure on Cuba

US Justice Department may charge former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the 1996 downing of Brothers to the Rescue planes. This could increase pressure on Cuba.

#RaulCastro, #CubaUS, #BrothersToTheRescue, #DOJ, #Sanctions

https://newsletter.tf/us-charges-raul-castro-1996-plane-incident/

The US is preparing charges against Raul Castro, a significant escalation compared to previous actions against Cuba.

#RaulCastro, #CubaUS, #BrothersToTheRescue, #DOJ, #Sanctions
https://newsletter.tf/us-charges-raul-castro-1996-plane-incident/