Raul Castro, former Cuban president and revolutionary guerrilla, has appeared in public for the first time since the US indicted him for his alleged role in the shooting down of two civilian airliners in 1996, two official videos released today show.
Castro's 95th birthday celebration with top officials and military leaders late last night at the Interior Ministry in Havana was a chance for Cuba's socialist government to close ranks and show defiance, at a time when President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up its pressure campaign on the island.
State television broadcast footage of Castro in an olive green military uniform entering a packed theater to a standing ovation, followed by his grandson and bodyguard Raul Guillermo Rodriguez and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Diaz-Canel paid tribute to the "heroism and dignity" shown by Castro and his late brother, the central figure of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro.
He praised Raul Castro, who served as Cuba's defense minister for almost 50 years, "for his courage and loyalty" which, he said, made him a target of intelligence services of Cuba's enemies at a very early age.
In a more direct response to the Trump administration's provocations, Diaz-Canel warned that a "decisive and firm fight" would follow if the US carried out its threats and occupied the island.
“Raul is Raul,” he said, repeating a slogan that has appeared on billboards across Havana and in multiple social media posts since May 20, when the US indicted Raul Castro for murder. The slogan appears to be an attempt to mobilize national unity in response to the image of isolation. “Raul is Cuba, and Cuba is untouchable.”
Last night's celebration, two days after Castro's birthday, marked a rare public appearance by the unobtrusive but influential Cuban military general. Although he officially retired from politics in April 2021, Raul Castro is believed to still wield considerable political power.
US President Donald Trump's administration in May accused former Cuban President Raul Castro of alleged involvement in the 1996 shooting down of two civilian airliners off the coast of Cuba, which killed four people.
It was the harshest of a series of measures since the Trump administration virtually cut off Cuba's oil supply in January, further exacerbating the country's problems, such as long power outages and a public health crisis.
The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba's socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governing so that it no longer poses a threat to the national security of the United States. Cuba, on the other hand, says it poses no threat to the United States.
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