Raul Castro charged by US with murder, conspiracy over downing of two planes in 1996

Key points

• The US grand jury in Florida has indicted former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the Cuban military's fatal downing of two planes nearly three decades ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday (local time).
• The criminal charges against the 94-year-old Castro, brother of the late Fidel Castro and widely seen as one of Havana's most influential and powerful figures, mark an escalation in US President Donald Trump's administration pressure campaign against the Cuban government.
• Castro served as Havana's president from 2008 to 2018, and as the top official of the country's Communist Party from 2011 to 2021, CBS News reported.
• The development comes days after CBS News reported that the Trump administration was moving to indict Castro.
• According to a document from the DOJ, Castro has been charged with Lorenzo Alberto Perez‑Perez of Las Tunas, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga,...