US Impeaches Former Cuban Leader Raul Castro: Why It Matters | Stories about Raul Castro

The administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump has said filed charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro for the downing of two civilian planes in 1996, killing four.

On Wednesday, in a statement from Miami’s Freedom Tower, US Attorney General Todd Blanche described the case as historic.

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“For the first time in nearly 70 years, the top leaders of the Cuban government have been charged in this country, in the United States of America, for the violence that led to the deaths of Americans,” said Blanche.

“Tribes and their leaders cannot be allowed to target Americans, kill them, and not be held accountable.”

The case against Castro – a prominent figure in Cuba’s Communist Party – and five co-defendants is poised to escalate tensions between Cuba and the US.

Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has increased sanctions and imposed an oil embargo on the island, aiming to change the leadership in Havana.

On Wednesday, Trump said, “America will not allow a rogue nation with foreign military, intelligence and terrorist weapons 145 miles from us. We will not rest until the Cuban people regain their freedom.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American, released a video on X where he spoke to the Cuban people.

He said that the economic and social problems of Cuba are under his leadership, and he reiterated the US government’s offer of $100m to help the people to change.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, however, described the 1996 shooting as “legal defense”.

He added that the US “knows very well – because there is a lot of evidence – that no reckless actions were taken, and international law was not violated”.

How does this decision relate to US policy?

The case against Castro, 94, stems from the 1996 downing of two planes operated by the Cuban exile group, Brothers to the Rescue.

Critics, however, argue that the decision is part of US neocolonial efforts to strengthen its influence in Cuba through sanctions, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation.

Since the 1960s, the US has imposed a trade embargo on Cuba, the longest of any country in modern history.

But the financial crisis worsened in January, when Trump cut off oil and gas exchanges between Venezuela and Cuba.

He then threatened economic sanctions against any country that supplied oil to Cuba, and embargoed foreign oil imports.

Cuba’s aging infrastructure is heavily dependent on imported oil, and the island has faced nationwide power outages in the coming months, exacerbating an already dire economic situation.

Although Castro ended his term as president in 2018, he remains one of the most influential figures in Cuban politics following the death of his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2016.

The Castro brothers were leaders in the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which brought a communist government to the island.

Since the US impeachment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and Washington’s seizure of Venezuela’s oil industry, the US has renewed its focus on Cuba, pushing for regime change and economic reforms.

Mr Trump has also said he is considering US military action if his demands are not met.

But Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made a scathing statement earlier this month.

“Despite the (US) embargo, sanctions and threats to use force, Cuba continues its independent path towards social development,” Rodriguez said.

Who is Raul Castro?

Born in 1931, Raul Castro played a role with his older brother, Fidel, in the coup that overthrew the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

He later helped expel the US-backed The Bay of Pigs attack in 1961 and became one of the leading figures in the Cuban Revolution.

Castro served as Cuba’s defense minister from 1959 to 2008, making him one of the longest-serving defense ministers in the world. He was also a member of the powerful Politburo of the Communist Party from 1965 to 2021.

He succeeded Fidel Castro as president in 2008 and remained in office until 2018, but has continued to wield considerable influence since stepping down.

During his presidency, Raul Castro oversaw the end of relations with Washington under former US President Barack Obama.

“The American people are among our closest neighbors. We have to respect each other. We have never started an argument with the American people. A good relationship can be beneficial. We may not be able to solve all our problems, but we can solve many of them,” Castro said in 2008.

In 2013, Castro and Obama shook hands at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. A year later, both governments announced their intention to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after more than 50 years.

Obama later visited Havana in 2016, becoming the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years.

But relations have also soured during Donald Trump’s first term as US president. In 2019, Washington recognized Castro and banned him from entering the US due to Cuba’s support for the Maduro government in Venezuela and human rights violations.

What is Castro being accused of?

Casto is charged with one count of attempted murder, four counts of murder and two counts of sabotage.

The communist leader was the minister of defense in 1996 when the Cuban government hijacked two planes belonging to the Cuban-based volunteer organization Brothers to Rescue in Miami.

Four people were killed: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr, Mario de la Pena and Pablo Morales.

Brothers in Rescue said they often search the Florida Straits for Cuban refugees trying to escape the island and often fly close to the Cuban territory.

Cuba said the airstrikes were a legitimate response to repeated violations of its airspace. Fidel Castro said the military was “under orders” to shoot down planes entering Cuban territory, while insisting that Raul Castro did not stop it from happening.

Washington condemned the attack and imposed sanctions, but stopped short of prosecuting Castro’s brother. In 2003, the Justice Department indicted three Cuban soldiers in connection with the case, although none were acquitted.

The International Civil Aviation Organization later confirmed that the planes were shot down in international airspace.

Critics, including Diaz-Canel, say the new decision reflects a broader US campaign against Cuba’s leadership.

“These are political tactics, without any legal basis, whose purpose is only to put the documents they are creating to prove the absurdity of military aggression against Cuba,” Diaz-Canel wrote on Wednesday.

Media reports say Trump wants Diaz-Canel removed from the Cuban presidency, in favor of another leader.

Although the Trump administration has not identified the candidates, reports indicate that they have been in talks with the likes of Raul “Raulito” Rodriguez Castro – Raul Castro’s grandson – and his son Alejandro Castro Espin.

But the case could jeopardize any further talks with Cuba’s top leaders.

How important is this move?

The ruling against Raul Castro is similar to previous US cases against foreign leaders like Maduro.

In 2020, for example, the Trump administration accused Maduro of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

After launching a January 3 coup in Caracas to take over Maduro, it changed the case and put the operation as a constitutional process needed to impeach the Venezuelan president.

Maduro is currently being held in New York, where he has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Trump has repeatedly accused the Cuban government of corruption and warned Havana that “Cuba is next” after the military actions of Iran and Venezuela.

Therefore, Wednesday criticized the opposition that Trump could lay the groundwork for a similar operation to remove the communist government from Cuba.

However, Javier Farje, a journalist and historian who works in Latin America, told Al Jazeera that he believes Washington’s approach is about gradual economic reform.

“I doubt that regime change is very important to the US. Look at what happened in Venezuela,” Farje said, pointing to how the US removed Maduro but kept his government in place.

Farje added that Trump’s tough talks could be part of a negotiation process to remove sanctions from the Cuban government.

“I think Trump and Rubio are playing good cop and bad cop, Rubio is willing to negotiate and negotiate,” he said. “There is pressure to release the prisoners and open up the oil economy.”

Farje also noted that there are political risks to military conflict with Cuba. In the past, economic problems on the island have led to many people immigrating to the US. A fight could escalate the issue, undermining Trump’s efforts to restrict immigration to the US.

“If there is an attack on Cuba, it could lead to a flood of refugees in America, and that’s not what Trump wants,” Farje said.

While the Trump administration wants to weaken the Cuban government, it also wants to strengthen the country’s private sector.

Farje described it as a priority for the Trump administration as it prepares to move there.

Previously, US policy allowed diesel to be exported to small Cuban companies while maintaining restrictions on state-run entities.

“I have the impression that Rubio’s idea is to try to create change within Cuba through the economy and to strengthen the private sector in Cuba, which is still small but is becoming popular,” said Farje.