China and Russia Condemn US Indictment of Former Cuban President

The United States has charged former Cuban president Raúl Castro with murder over the 1996 shooting down of two civilian planes, a move that has drawn sharp condemnation from both China and Russia.

Castro, who led Cuba from 2008 until stepping down in 2018, was indicted Wednesday alongside five others over their alleged roles in ordering the destruction of two aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Cuban-American dissident group. The planes were travelling between Cuba and Florida when they were shot down, killing four people, including three US citizens.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged Washington to stop “threatening force at every turn” and to end what he described as the use of sanctions and legal systems as tools of pressure against Cuba.

Russia also criticised the move, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the pressure campaign against Cuba “cannot be condoned” and warning that US actions “border on violence”.

The charges carry penalties ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty, though it remains unclear how US authorities intend to bring the former Cuban leader to trial.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has rejected the case, calling it “a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation.”