Cuban crowds rally to defend Raul Castro against U.S. indictment

Thousands of Cubans gathered outside the United States Embassy in Havana on Friday to protest Washington’s indictment of former president Raúl Castro over the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft. Raúl Castro, now 94, faces charges including murder, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft in connection with the incident in international waters when a Cuban jet shot down two small planes operated by the group Brothers to the Rescue. Cuba maintains the planes were in Cuban airspace and defends the action as self-defence. The demonstration, some reports say attended by more than 200,000 people, featured Mariela Castro, Raúl Castro’s daughter, who told the crowd that Cuba would fight its enemies at any time and that nobody would kidnap her, apparently alluding to operations against Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. A message read on behalf of Raúl Castro by Gerardo Hernández, a member of parliament, indicated that he would remain at the forefront of the revolution and that Cuba’s response to the airspace violation by Brothers to the Rescue was legitimate defence. The possibility of a similar operation against Raúl Castro has become a growing concern for the Cuban government following the indictment. US authorities announced federal charges against Raúl Castro on Wednesday in relation to the 1996 downing of the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft, which left four people dead and included three U.S. citizens. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said Castro had been officially designated as a fugitive by the United States. On 24 February 1996, Cuban jets shot down two small planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue; Cuba said the planes were in its airspace and defended the downing as self-defence. The United States maintained the aircraft were over international waters, a position supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which concluded the incident occurred outside Cuban airspace. The Cuban military, weakened since the Cold War, faces mounting pressure from the United States. Under Washington’s pressure, Havana relies on a doctrine of People’s War. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is expected to announce criminal charges against Raúl Castro for the 1996 incident. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Cuban people, accusing GAESA of causing the crisis.