The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro. The potential indictment is connected to Castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, when he served as defense minister. Any criminal charge would require grand jury approval and could sharply escalate tensions with Havana. The move would also increase expectations of U.S. military action in Cuba. After the Trump administration focused on Venezuela, it ordered an economic blockade against Cuba, contributing to fuel shortages, blackouts, and economic collapse. U.S. attention to Iran has provided Cuban leaders some reprieve, while speculation grows that the administration may refocus on Cuba if Cuba does not open its economy to American investment and remove certain leadership constraints.
"The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday, as President Donald Trump threatens possible military action against the communist-run island. One of the people told the AP that the potential indictment is connected to Castro's alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time."
"Any criminal charge against Castro, which would need to be approved by a grand jury, would dramatically escalate tensions with Havana and ramp up expectations of U.S. military action in Cuba like the one carried out in January in Venezuela to bring President Nicolàs Maduro to New York on drug trafficking charges."
"Following Maduro's ouster, the Trump administration quickly turned its attention to his ally Cuba and ordered an economic blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and a collapse in economic activity across the island."
"As Trump seeks to wind down that conflict, speculation has been growing that he may soon turn his attention back to Cuba after pledging earlier this year a "friendly takeover" of the country if its leadership didn't open up its economy to American investment and kick out U."
#us-justice-department #raul-castro #us-cuba-relations #brothers-to-the-rescue #indictment-and-grand-jury
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]