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The Cuban regime called on thousands of residents of Pinar del Río to gather at the Plaza de la Revolución on Friday to support Raúl Castro and reject the criminal charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the former leader for the downing of aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.
The event, reported by the official newspaper Guerrillero, is part of a series of Anti-Imperialist Open Forums that the regime has been organizing since May 23 amid an internal crisis and will culminate on June 3, the date of Castro's 95th birthday.
The indictment was approved by a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Florida on April 23, 2026, and declassified on May 20 by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at the Freedom Tower in Miami.
The charges include conspiracy to murder American citizens, destruction of civilian aircraft, and four counts of homicide for the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, who died on February 24, 1996, when two Cessna 337 planes from Brothers to the Rescue were shot down with missiles over the Florida Straits.
In the Pinar event, Dr. Mayté Cabrera Hernández, head of the Hospital Department of the Provincial Health Directorate, spoke on behalf of more than 20,000 health workers in the province and called the accusation "an action devoid of validity and morality, an undignified and despicable provocation," repo.
The same official acknowledged, however, the seriousness of the hospital crisis. "The embargo has a concrete impact; it affects the proper functioning of our healthcare system, and a clear example of this is the 1,630 patients who today have not been able to undergo surgery due to a lack of resources and medical supplies. Among them, 71 are children, and 365 sadly suffer from cancer," she said.
Henry Miranda Puerto, prosecutor of the municipality of San Juan y Martínez, defended the downing of the planes as "legitimate defense" and stated that the United States "has no moral or political authority to point fingers at those who have defended, with honor and bravery, the sovereignty of our nation."
Danivia Borges Machuat, General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women in the province, recalled that thousands of residents of Pinar del Río recently signed a declaration of support for the regime.
"From this western corner of this mambisa and rebellious Island, we reiterate that we are a people of peace," Borges emphasized.
The mobilizations are happening as Cuba experiences its worst crisis in decades, with blackouts exceeding 20 hours a day in some areas, and a survey revealed that one in three Cuban families faced hunger in 2025.
The regime mobilized public transport, military personnel, police, and state workers to ensure attendance at the events, which have sparked both images of official support and reactions of mockery on social media.
Last Wednesday, Elián González spoke at a forum in Matanzas and described the accusation as a "nonsense," stating that Castro "has every moral right, just as his brother did, to demand any sacrifice."
The accusation is primarily symbolic, as there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States and Castro has not set foot on American soil, but the regime has turned it into the focal point of a mobilization campaign that will last until June 3rd.
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