threatened sanctions and tariffs on countries that trade oil with Cuba
increased diplomatic pressure on Havana
called for deep political and economic reforms
strengthened the rhetoric against the communist regime
The Donald Trump administration intensifies pressure against the Cuban dictatorship following the indictment of former dictator Raúl Castro for the downing of aircraft from Brothers to the Rescue that occurred in 1996.
threatened sanctions and tariffs on countries that trade oil with Cuba
increased diplomatic pressure on Havana
called for deep political and economic reforms
strengthened the rhetoric against the communist regime
The U.S. Secretary of State released a video on Wednesday directed specifically at Cubans, where he accused the regime of:
corruption
theft
oppression
economic destruction of the island
“President Trump offers a new relationship between the United States and Cuba, but it has to be directly with you, the Cuban people”, Rubio stated in Spanish.
The message coincided with May 20, a date that the Cuban community in the United States remembers as Cuba's Independence Day.
Dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel responded through social media, accusing Washington of “intervention” and “interference,” referring to the historic Platt Amendment.
However, within the Cuban establishment, there is growing concern about the political, judicial, and economic offensive being pushed from Washington, especially against historical figures of Castroism.
Raúl Castro, 94, is still considered one of the main real centers of power within the Cuban dictatorship despite having formally stepped down from leading the Communist Party in 2021.
The decision to move forward judicially against him represents one of the most aggressive moves by the United States against the historical leadership of the regime since the end of the Cold War.
The offensive also serves as a direct political message: the Trump administration seeks to increase the international isolation of the Cuban dictatorship and take action against those it considers responsible for decades of repression, espionage, and human rights violations.
The United States has moved forward with a new judicial and political offensive against the Cuban dictatorship by confirming the indictment of former dictator Raúl Castro for the shooting down of planes from the organization Brothers to the Rescue that occurred in 1996, an episode considered by international organizations as an extrajudicial execution.
The measure represents a significant escalation in the pressure strategy pushed by President Donald Trump against the communist regime in Havana.
According to a senior official from the U.S. administration, the Department of Justice has moved forward with charges related to the airstrike carried out on February 24, 1996, when Cuban military planes shot down two civilian Cessna 337 aircraft operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
The attack resulted in the deaths of:
Armando Alejandre Jr.
Carlos Costa
Mario de la Peña
Pablo Morales
The bodies of some victims were never recovered in the Florida Straits.
Investigations by the International Civil Aviation Organization concluded that the aircraft were shot down outside Cuban airspace, approximately ten nautical miles from the territorial limit.
Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights classified the episode as an “extrajudicial execution” and directly held the chain of command of the Cuban regime responsible.
After the attack, the FBI dismantled the so-called Wasp Network, a spying structure operated by Cuban intelligence on U.S. territory.
Its leader, Gerardo Hernández, was convicted in 2001 for conspiracy to commit murder after the prosecution demonstrated that the spies alerted the regime about the flights of Brothers to the Rescue.
Hernández was later released in 2014 during the diplomatic agreement pushed by Barack Obama.
The indictment comes amid a tightening of U.S. policy towards Cuba under the Trump administration.
In recent months, Washington: