Raúl Castro made his first public appearance since being indicted by the United States in Havana on June 5 at an Interior Ministry celebration [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The US Department of Justice charged Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder related to the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian planes flown by Miami-based Cuban exiles [1, 3, 5]. Castro, who was Cuban Defense Minister at the time of the incident, turned 95 years old on June 3 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The shoot-down in February 1996 involved Cuban military aircraft shooting down two unarmed civilian planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four Americans [3, 5]. The indictment, unsealed this May, was part of a broader US pressure campaign against the Cuban government initiated under the Trump administration [3, 5]. Trump said, "We have big news on Cuba, as you know, with the indictment of Castro. A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very, at levels that few people would understand," while assuring, "There won’t be escalation. We won’t have to" [5].
Castro's last public appearance before the June 5 event had been the May Day labor celebration in Havana, shortly before the indictment was announced [1, 2, 4, 5]. Earlier in 2026, he had appeared publicly on January 15 at a ceremony honoring Cuban soldiers who died during an operation linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro [1, 2, 4, 5]. Cuba expert Christine Balling noted, "At the very least, it means symbolically that he is now set up just as Nicolás Maduro was" [5].
The four American deaths from the 1996 shoot-down remain a key point in US-Cuba tensions [3, 5]. Castro’s appearance on June 5 marked the first time he publicly surfaced since the indictment, signaling the Cuban government's continued defiance amid legal actions abroad [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
