The US indicts Cuba's former president for his involvement in 1996 downing of plane

The Trump administration has charged Cuba's former leader, 94 year old Raul Castro, of murder in connection with the shooting down of two light aircraft in 1996 which killed three American citizens. It's the latest escalation in a long line of actions taken by President Trump against the communist-run island of Cuba.

There are concerns this could be the build up to a US military operation to seize Raul Castro, similar to what happened to former President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. There has been an increase in American surveillance flights over Cuba in recent weeks, the US has accused Cuba of stockpiling Russian and Iranian attack drones, while the US Aircraft Carrier Nimitz has just arrived in the Caribbean.

Cubans expressed their shock and indignation while Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X that the charges carry no legal basis and "add to the file they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba." He went on to warn that the US would face fierce resistance should it attack.

China and Russia have both condemned the move.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing Thursday that Washington "should stop brandishing the sanctions stick and the judicial stick against Cuba and stop threatening force at every turn."

"We reaffirm our total solidarity with Cuba," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement in which she condemned US "intimidation, unilateral restrictive measures, threats and blackmail."

Critics fear that President Donald Trump is chasing the kind of regime-altering triumph in Cuba that has eluded him in Iran. But invading and capturing Raul Castro is unlikely to produce a compliant Government in Havana as it achieved in Venezuela, following the fall of Nicolas Maduro.

President Trump has hailed the indictment as a "very big moment" but played down prospects of moving on Cuba.

"There won't be escalation. I don't think there needs to be. Look, the place is falling apart. It's a mess, and they sort of lost control," he told reporters on Wednesday.

The Cuban economy is on its knees following the months long energy blockade. Just one Russian oil tanker has arrived in Cuba. The country is now facing a grave humanitarian crisis.

Cuba has officially run out of diesel and fuel oil and the country is experiencing blackouts of up to 20 hours a day, and rubbish is piling up on the streets. The lack of fuel is also making it difficult to bring food from the countryside into the towns and rubbish is piling up on the streets. Fuel is also needed for generators, with hospitals and schools being forced to cut back or close.

Raul Castro is the younger brother of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who overthrew the US-backed government in 1959, nationalized US economic interests and turned Cuba into a Soviet ally at the height of the Cold War.

Raul Castro was defense minister at the time of the incident and went on to become President and first secretary of the Communist Party. He is known for his short-lived rapprochement with President Barack Obama, which Cubans hoped would lead to normalization of relations after decades of embargoes. It was not to be. In 2018 he stepped down, replaced by Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Raul will turn 75 on June 3rd and despite retiring to his home on the far end of the island he remains influential, seen by some as the power behind the throne. He appeared most recently in public, looking frail, at the annual May Day parade in Havana. He is still revered by many on the island as one of the original "leaders of the revolution."

What is the indictment about?

The indictment refers to an incident in 1996, a time when Cuba was facing similar economic hardships to today following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thousands of Cubans were leaving the country, many risking their lives on small makeshift boats heading towards Florida.

A Miami-based Cuban dissident group, Brothers to the Rescue, was formed to help those making the dangerous crossing, flying over the area pinpointing boats and sometimes dropping water and supplies. But the group went beyond this and started flying over Havana dropping anti government leaflets.

The Cuban government had repeatedly complained to Washington. The Cubans accused Brothers to the Rescue of being terrorists and claim that the shooting down of the two light aircraft, killing all four aboard, was behind this. The US says they were shot down in international waters, Cuba says they were in their airspace.

It caused a huge international incident at the time and put an end to a possible easing of tensions under President Bill Clinton. The US ramped up sanction, which are still in force to this day. Among the Miami-based Cuban exile community the incident remains an emotional issue to this day.

In Cuba there have been widespread protests over the blackouts and lack of food with many criticising the government as much as the US. People are desperate for their lives to return to normal but with no clear end in sight.