Cuban Former Leader Raul Castro Appears in Havana After US Indictment

Footage broadcast on Cuban state television on Wednesday showed former leader Raul Castro appearing at a celebration at the Interior Ministry in Havana. This is his first public appearance since being indicted by the United States on murder charges last month. Reuters reported that the Trump administration accuses Castro, who was defense minister in 1996, of ordering the shooting down of two civilian planes piloted by Miami-based exiles off the coast of Cuba. This move is seen as a significant escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Cuba's communist government. Castro, who turned 95 on Tuesday, was last seen in public at a May Day event in Havana about a month ago, before the US indictment. Prior to that, he had not been seen in public since January 15, when he attended a ceremony in the capital honoring 32 Cuban soldiers killed in an operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.