Raúl Castro makes first public appearance since Trump DOJ murder charges
Raúl Castro accused of shooting down American pilots in 1996
Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., discusses the indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro on murder and conspiracy charges related to the 1996 shooting down of two civilian airliners that killed four American pilots on ‘Sunday Night in America.’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro appeared in public Friday for the first time since the Trump administration charged him with murder in the 1996 shooting down of planes operated by a Cuban exile group.
According to Reuters, Castro appeared on state television during a celebration organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Havana.
The announcement came weeks after the Justice Department announced an indictment accusing Castro of playing a role in shooting down two planes operated by the Miami-based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue nearly 30 years ago.
Castro was accused of conspiracy to kill US citizens, destroying aircraft and four counts of murder.
DOJ, TREASURY INVESTIGATING PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND LEADERS WHO ALLEGEDLY COORDINATED WITH CUBA IN THE IMPACT CAMPAIGN
Raul Castro waves the Cuban national flag during the May Day march in Revolution Square in Havana on May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Castro, who turned 95 on Wednesday, was last seen in public during May 1 celebrations in Havana, days before the indictment was announced.
Castro remained out of public view for months before emerging on May 1, appearing only at a public ceremony in the Cuban capital in January commemorating the 32 Cuban soldiers killed during the US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The indictment focuses on the February 1996 incident in which Cuban military aircraft allegedly shot down two unarmed civilian airliners operated by the Brotherhood, killing four people: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.
OBAMA’S BASEBALL TRIP WITH CASTRO RE-ignites fury AFTER TRUMP DOJ PUT HAMMER ON CUBA LEADER
Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro attend a parade in Havana, Cuba, on December 2, 1996. (Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photography/Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege the plane was flying outside Cuban territory when it was destroyed.
The indictment comes amid rising tensions in the Caribbean and a series of comments by Trump and his surrogates that hint at possible regime change in the island nation.
President Donald Trump had previously praised the indictment, saying Cuban Americans whose families suffered under communist rule had been waiting for decades to be held accountable.
TRUMP DECLARES A NATIONAL EMERGENCY IN CUBA, THREATENING TARIFFS AGAINST COUNTRIES THAT SUPPLY OIL TO THE COMMUNIST REGIME
Former Cuban Vice President Jose Machado and dictator Raul Castro are seen in Cuba. (Yamil Lage/Getty Images)
“As you know, we have big news on Cuba with the impeachment of Castro,” Trump said. “So many people have suffered so much that so few people can understand.”
Trump also claimed that tensions with Cuba would not increase following the indictment.
“There will be no debate,” he said. “We won’t have to.”
CHIEF OF PARLIAMENT INTELLIGENCE SAID MADURO’S CAPTURE WAS THE ‘BEGINNING OF THE END’ FOR THE CUBA REGIME
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and former Cuban leader Raul Castro met at an event. (Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate/AP:Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
Still, the decision to impeach Castro sparked comparisons with Trump’s earlier pressure campaign against Maduro.
“It means, at least symbolically, that he is established in the same way that Nicolás Maduro is,” Christine Balling, a Cuba expert at the World Policy Institute and former adviser to U.S. Special Operations Command Southern, previously told Fox News Digital.
While the United States has indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges, it has tightened sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, supported opposition efforts to remove him from power, and stepped up military operations in the Caribbean.
“I don’t think we would necessarily be running the same operation,” Balling said. “Raúl Castro is 94 years old. It might not be worth the trouble.”
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Still, Balling argued that the indictment sends “a very clear message that we are 100% behind the collapse of the Castro regime.”
Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy, Greg Wehner and Morgan Phillips as well as Fox News’ David Spunt, Bill Mears and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed to this report.
