Washington hailed the judicial action as a long-overdue step toward accountability. For many Cubans, however, the revival of the three-decade-old case was another effort by Washington to intensify pressure on Havana and discredit the Cuban Revolution.

WASHINGTON/HAVANA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday announced criminal charges against Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro, in a move seen as part of a broader pressure campaign against Cuba.

30-YEAR-OLD CASE RETURNS

According to a document released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Castro was indicted on his alleged role in the Cuban military's 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based group formed by Cuban exiles, in which four people on board were killed.

Cuba said the planes had violated its airspace and described the shootdown as a legitimate act of self-defense, while the United States insisted that the aircraft were flying over international waters.

Castro, Cuba's defense minister at that time, is accused of ordering the shootdown, an allegation previously denied by then Cuban President Fidel Castro.

He faces charges including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder, carrying a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment if convicted.

The announcement came on Cuba's Independence Day during a commemorative event marking the 30th anniversary of the shootdown held in Miami, home to one of the largest Cuban exile communities in the United States.

Havana denounced the move as a "political maneuver" with no legal basis whatsoever and said it revealed the "arrogance and frustration of the empire's representatives."

"We condemn the farce staged by the U.S. government in bringing an illegitimate and unlawful indictment against the Leader of the Cuban Revolution," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on X. "The aim is to reinforce a fraudulent narrative designed to justify intensified aggression against the Cuban people."

FAR BEYOND THE 1996 SHOOTDOWN

Washington hailed the judicial action as a long-overdue step toward accountability. For many Cubans, however, the revival of the three-decade-old case was another effort by Washington to intensify pressure on Havana and discredit the Cuban Revolution.

"When someone wants to punish you, they will always find a reason, even if it happened 30 years ago," Julio Dominguez Gonzalez, an employee of Cuba's postal service in Havana, told Xinhua.

He said any prosecution would serve as justification for additional sanctions rather than a fair judicial process, adding that it is ordinary Cubans who ultimately bear the consequences.

Some analysts said the indictment was intended to increase political pressure on Havana, but was unlikely to bring Castro before a U.S. court, or force the Cuban government to accept Washington's terms.

"The Cubans are not good at backing down," William LeoGrande, a professor of government at American University, told the New York Times.

Analysts also noted the move could carry domestic political value, demonstrating a tough stance on Cuba to Cuban American voters in South Florida ahead of the midterm elections.

"My message today is clear: the United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said when announcing the indictment.

RISKS OF FURTHER ESCALATION

Some observers warned that the indictment underscored the lingering risk of further escalation in U.S.-Cuba tensions.

For more than six decades, the United States has maintained economic, trade and financial blockades against Cuba. Since January, the U.S. administration has stepped up pressure on Havana, with President Donald Trump repeatedly claiming a "takeover" of the country.

Blanche confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Castro, saying that "he will show up here by his own will or by another way," but stopped short of explaining how the United States might compel his appearance.

The United States brought narcoterrorism charges against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before launching a military operation in Venezuela and capturing him in the name of law enforcement this January.

"(The indictment) has created a fig leaf of legality for any military operations to seize or assassinate Raul Castro." U.S. analyst Peter Kornbluh told Reuters.

The U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday that the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, including the aircraft carrier, its carrier air wing, and at least one guided-missile destroyer, has arrived in the Caribbean.

Trump later denied any escalation against Cuba, saying the United States was "freeing up" the island country.

Despite the worsening relations, limited contacts between the two countries continued. On May 14, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with senior Cuban officials in Havana to discuss "intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security issues."

The indictment, however, could further narrow those diplomatic channels.

Luis Rene Fernandez, professor at the University of Havana, said Washington's hostile actions toward Cuba had entered a new phase of "high-intensity hybrid warfare," aimed at economically and politically suffocating the island in hopes of eventually overthrowing the Cuban government.

The indictment of Castro is another element of the hybrid warfare, he added.