Raul Castro appears in public for first time since US charges

Former Cuban president Raul Castro appeared in public for the first time since the United States filed murder charges against him. The 95-year-old veteran leader attended an event at the Ministry of Interior in Havana on Friday, June 5.

Footage broadcast on Cuban state television showed him present at the event. This was his first public appearance since a US court filed murder charges against him last month.

The charges stem from a 1996 incident when Cuban military jets shot down two small aircraft operated by exiled Cuban groups, killing four people — three US citizens and one legal permanent resident of the United States.

At the time of the incident, Raul Castro was Cuba's defence minister. The US alleges that he ordered the aircraft to be shot down. Nearly three decades later, the Trump administration filed formal charges against him.

Raul Castro is the brother of revolutionary leader and former president Fidel Castro. The two brothers led Cuba's communist regime for decades. US-Cuba relations have long been hostile.

Raul Castro stepped down as president in 2018 and also relinquished leadership of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba in 2021.

Analysts believe Washington brought the case as part of a strategy to increase pressure on Cuba's communist government. Although the US imposed sanctions on Cuba following the 1996 incident, direct criminal charges had never been filed against Raul or Fidel Castro before.

His previous public appearance was at a rally in Havana on May 1, International Workers' Day, before the US charges were filed.