What Happened?
The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five fighter pilots in the Cuban military stemming from a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.
Raúl Castro, age ninety-four, was charged with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Mr. Castro appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month, and there are currently no indications he has left the island or that he will be extradited.
Why it Matters
There is no specific incident or action taken by Cuba in recent years that has triggered the surge of interest in the island nation by the Trump Administration. Instead, the focus likely stems from the long history between Cuba and the U.S. and the Trump Administration’s desire to exert maximum influence over the Latin American countries.
Cuba has long opposed U.S. policies in the region, and for the Trump Administration to succeed in exerting more control over Latin America, Cuba would have to be brought in line.
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It is unusual for the U.S. Department of Justice to file charges against current or former national leaders. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded to the charges against Raúl Castro by saying Mr. Castro’s actions in 1996 were lawful because they were taken in the defense of Cuban territory, and that any attempted forceful extradition could lead to war between Cuba and the U.S. While Cuba’s military capabilities are small compared to that of the United States, Cuba could attack U.S. personnel at Guantanamo Bay and overwhelm the American contingent there.
Raúl Castro is also the younger brother of Fidel Castro. After seizing power, Fidel Castro struck an alliance with the Soviet Union, then seized U.S.-owned businesses and properties. The U.S. has since maintained an economic embargo on the nation of about 10 million. Raúl Castro helped defeat the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and served as defense minister for decades. He succeeded his brother as president in 2008 and stepped down in 2018, but remains a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in Cuban politics.
There is also a personal dimension to U.S. policy towards Cuba. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seen as the architect of the Trump Administration’s new Latin American policies, is himself the son of Cuban immigrants. The current regime in Cuba has for decades engaged in quasi-criminal or blatantly criminal conduct, while impoverishing the Cuban people. Those actions have made the regime widely unpopular in Cuba, and Mr. Rubio’s parents likely passed those memories and experiences on to him.
How it Affects You
Though any potential war between the U.S. and Cuba would likely end in Cuban defeat, Cuba’s ground forces could overwhelm the five thousand strong American contingent at Guantanamo Bay. Though any such war would be a foregone conclusion, there would likely be American casualties.
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