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Humberto López, the main media spokesperson for the Cuban regime and host of the program "Razones de Cuba," was responsible for reading on state television the official statement from the revolutionary government that rejects the federal criminal charges brought by the United States Department of Justice against Raúl Castro Ruz.
The accusation, announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at the Freedom Tower in Miami, includes charges of conspiracy to assassinate U.S. citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four individual charges of homicide for the shooting down of two planes belonging to the organization Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, in which Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales lost their lives.
López read before the cameras of the state channel a statement that describes the charges as a "scoundrel accusation" and characterizes them as "a despicable and shameful act of political provocation that relies on the dishonest manipulation of the 1996 incident."
The official text asserts that "the government of the United States lacks legitimacy and jurisdiction to carry out this action" and argues that the downing of the aircraft "constituted an act of legitimate defense protected by the United Nations Charter, the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the principles of air sovereignty and proportionality."
The statement also claims that Cuba submitted more than 25 formal complaints to the Department of State, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the International Civil Aviation Organization between 1994 and 1996 for violations of Cuban airspace.
The statement does not hold back on rhetoric: "It is quite cynical for the same government that has killed nearly 200 people and destroyed 57 vessels in international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific to make this accusation."
President Miguel Díaz-Canel also came forward to defend Raúl Castro, describing the accusation as "a political action, with no legal basis" and arguing that Cuba acted "in legitimate defense, within its jurisdictional waters," a claim that contradicts the determination of the ICAO and U.S. courts, which established that the downing occurred over international waters.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz posted on X that the accusation “reveals the lack of arguments” from the United States and described it as a “farce.”
López's role in this episode is consistent with his usual function within the regime's propaganda apparatus. The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba included him in a database of "violent repressors" for calling for activists to be tried for treason against the homeland, and his accounts on Facebook and Instagram were blocked by Meta in May 2025 for violating community standards.
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