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Raúl Castro Ruz celebrates his 95th birthday today in a situation unprecedented in the history of the Cuban dictatorship.
The former dictator, born on June 3, 1931, in Birán, Holguín, is facing a federal criminal charge in the United States for the downing of two civilian aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, which claimed the lives of four Cuban Americans, and is being sought by U.S. authorities with an active arrest warrant.
The federal grand jury for the Southern District of Florida approved the indictment on April 23, 2026, and it was publicly unsealed on May 20 —Cuba’s Independence Day— by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at the Freedom Tower in Miami.
The charges against Castro include conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four individual counts of murder, offenses that carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The centerpiece of the accusation is an audio recording from June 1996 in which Castro himself describes the order he issued: “I said to try to shoot them down over the territory, but they entered Havana and left... Well, shoot them down in the sea when they appear; and do not consult with those who have the authority.”
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Castro is "a fugitive from U.S. justice" and warned that the regime "will not be able to wait for us or buy time." Federal prosecutor Yara Klukas was more direct: "We are waiting for Raul Castro. This was not a show. He will have his day in court before a jury in South Florida."
Blanche also emphasized Washington's determination: "We didn't do this for a show indictment", he declared on May 28, adding that they will do "everything possible" to bring Castro to trial in Miami.
The regime responded with an unprecedented campaign of political mobilization: it called for daily open forums across the country from May 23 until today, Castro's birthday, to defend the former dictator.
The designated ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel proclaimed, «The Army General is Cuba and Cuba deserves respect», while the Council of State and the National Assembly described the accusation as «infamous, immoral, and illegitimate».
Despite not holding formal positions since April 2021, when he also handed over the secretaryship of the Communist Party to Díaz-Canel, the regime continues to present Castro as the "historical leader of the Revolution" with "one foot in the stirrup", a phrase that Castro himself used to indicate that as long as he lives, he will be ready to defend the revolution.
At the same time, the Trump administration's sanctions against GAESA—the Cuban military-business conglomerate—are accelerating the departure of foreign companies.
Iberostar stopped managing 12 of its 18 hotels in Cuba as of June 1, Blue Diamond Resorts announced the complete cessation of operations in 62 hotels and over 12,900 rooms, and Sherritt suspended its direct involvement in its joint ventures. The deadline set by OFAC to sever ties with GAESA is June 5.
Negotiations between Castro's circle—represented by his grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo"—and Washington also do not yield any outcomes: Rubio admitted that “honestly, I don't see much progress” in the discussions with the regime.
While the regime organizes support events, in Havana, Castro's birthday was also met with pots and pans protests from Cubans fed up with the crisis, an image that better encapsulates the true state of the revolution that Castro claims to defend from his retirement than any official speech.
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