The United States has filed charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro. What is known

Last updated at 02:44 Moscow time

Former Cuban leader Raul Castro is charged with conspiracy to commit murder over an incident in 1996 when Cuban fighter jets shot down two American planes. Five other people are also involved in the case — Cuban military pilots, who, according to the US Department of Justice, are involved in the liquidation of the aircraft. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

The US Department of Justice has filed charges against Raul Castro

On May 20, Reuters reported on the plans of the US Department of Justice to file criminal charges against Castro, which will be based on the incident in 1996, when Cuban fighter jets shot down two American planes belonging to a group of immigrants from Cuba.

On the same day, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the charges against the former Cuban leader and others of conspiring to kill Americans. The head of the White House, Donald Trump, in turn, said that Washington would not escalate the situation in relations with the island state.

"No, no, there will be no escalation. I don't think that's necessary. Look, the country is falling apart. It's chaos, and they've basically lost control. They really lost control of Cuba," he told reporters.

The U.S. Department of Justice has also filed charges against five Cuban military personnel. Among the defendants are Cuban Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Alberto Perez—Perez, former Cuban Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, Emilio Jose Palacio Blanco, Jose Fidel Gual Barzaga and Raul Simanque Cardenas.

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Cuba's reaction to the charges against Castro

Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel said that the accusations made by the United States against Castro are devoid of any legal basis, and their only purpose is to justify aggression against the island.

"We are talking about a political action that has no legal basis. Her goal is only to fill in the dossier that they are fabricating to justify the reckless military aggression against Cuba," he wrote on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

The Cuban Government condemned the charges, calling them a "political provocation." It was clarified that Washington ignores numerous official complaints filed by Havana at that time to the State Department, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) about over 25 targeted violations of Cuban airspace committed by a terrorist organization from 1994 to 1996.

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