Former Cuban President and revolutionary leader Raúl Castro has made his first public appearance since being charged in a murder case in the United States.
The 95-year-old leader was seen on Friday attending an event organized by Cuba’s Interior Ministry in Havana, the country’s capital. The ceremony was broadcast on state television.
Last month, a US court formally charged Castro in connection with a decades-old case. Following the indictment, he had remained out of public view. Prior to Friday’s appearance, he was last seen at a May Day rally held in Cuba last month.
According to allegations made by the Trump administration, Castro—who was serving as Cuba’s defense minister in 1996—ordered the shooting down of a civilian aircraft operated by a group of Cuban exiles. Four American citizens were killed in the incident.
The legal action against Castro has further strained already tense relations between Washington and Havana. Analysts say the move has reignited diplomatic tensions between the United States and Cuba’s communist government over an incident that dates back nearly three decades.
Before the charges were formally announced, Castro had last appeared publicly on January 15 this year, when he attended a state ceremony in Havana honoring 32 Cuban soldiers who were killed during a US operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Source: AFP