Russia Condemns U.S. Arrest Warrant for Former Cuban Leader Raúl Castro

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, Oct. 20, strongly condemned an arrest warrant approved by a Florida state court for Raúl Castro, the 95-year-old former president of Cuba. He is charged in connection with the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian aircraft by the Cuban military. The move adds to U.S. pressure on Havana, a longtime ally of Moscow.

The charges

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Monday that a state judge had approved a warrant charging Castro with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The case concerns the Feb. 24, 1996, downing of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian group whose pilots opposed the Castro government. Raúl Castro, the younger brother of the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, was Cuba's defense minister at the time. Four people died in the incident. In a statement, Uthmeier said Castro ordered the cold-blooded murder of four Floridians.

Reactions from Moscow and Havana

The Russian ministry voiced "categorical rejection and decisive condemnation" of the warrant. It said that bringing a baseless and contrived accusation more than 30 years later looks like an act of vengeance by the anti-Cuban lobby in Miami. It also warned that Washington's legal actions against Cuba risk provoking wider regional instability.

The Cuban government has said the shoot-down was "legitimate self-defense" against an airspace violation.

Monday's warrant follows a federal indictment of Castro that the Trump administration issued in May over the same incident. The Kremlin then described that indictment as "bordering on violence."

Pressure on Cuba

Cuba, a Russian ally since the Soviet era, has faced widespread fuel shortages and recurring blackouts in recent months as U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure, including a blockade on fuel imports. Trump has vowed a "friendly takeover" of Cuba unless Havana carries out sweeping political and economic reforms that would greatly favor the United States.

In March, Russia sent an oil tanker to Cuba with what it called humanitarian assistance, effectively defying the blockade. Trump said at the time that he was not opposed to oil shipments to Cuba, including from Russia, even as his administration tightened economic sanctions on the island.