FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, May 20, 2026. The US Justice Department indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 94, on Wednesday for the murder of four American citizens during the downing of two civilian planes in 1996. The indictment, unveiled at a press conference in Miami by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, includes several charges: conspiracy to assassinate Americans, destruction of aircraft, and four individual counts of murder. Castro was then Cuba's Defense Minister under his brother Fidel.

Le Monde and RFI emphasize the political context in which this decision was made. Donald Trump called it a 'great day' while asserting that no military escalation would be necessary: 'This place is falling apart.' Todd Blanche went further, stating he expects Raúl Castro 'to spend the rest of his days in prison in the United States,' either voluntarily or 'in another way.'

The comparison with Venezuela is prominent in French media. In January, the Trump administration used a similar indictment against Nicolas Maduro to justify a military operation in Caracas that led to his arrest. France 24 recalls that the two Cessna planes shot down belonged to the Cuban exile group 'Brothers to the Rescue,' whose four members – including three Americans – were killed by air-to-air missiles fired in international airspace.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants, released a video message in Spanish directly to the Cuban people. He accused the state conglomerate GAESA of holding $18 billion in assets and controlling 70% of Cuba's economy, while renewing an offer of $100 million in aid, to be distributed through the Catholic Church or recognized charitable organizations. The US Secretary of State also attributed the power outages – sometimes 22 hours a day, according to RFI – not to the US blockade, but to the regime's corruption.

Havana rejected the indictment. President Miguel Díaz-Canel called it a 'political maneuver, with no legal basis,' aimed at 'fabricating a pretext for a military aggression.' He recalled that Cuba acted in self-defense after multiple airspace violations by a group Havana calls 'narcoterrorist,' which the Clinton administration had been warned about over a dozen times. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez refused to formally reject Rubio's offer, while denouncing the 'cynicism' of the offer in light of the energy blockade.