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CNN — China on Thursday lashed out at the US decision to bring criminal charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro.
“We oppose the abuse of the judicial process,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters at a press conference.
“The US must stop threatening Cuba with the use of force. China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity and in opposing foreign interference,” he added.
The US Department of Justice filed a formal indictment Wednesday against former President Castro, whom it identifies as one of those allegedly responsible for the downing of planes belonging to the Cuban-American exile organisation Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.
The charges against Castro were made public ahead of a ceremony in Miami commemorating the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes by the Cuban Armed Forces. Castro was defence minister at the time of the incident, which killed four people, three of them Americans.
Those who died were Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandro Jr., Mario de la Pena and Pablo Morales.
The Department accuses Castro of conspiracy to kill US citizens, destruction of aircraft, and murder.
During the ceremony in Miami, which began after the indictment was made public, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche declared that the US government does not forget those who died in 1996.
“For the first time in nearly 70 years, the top leadership of the Cuban regime has been indicted in the United States for alleged acts of violence that resulted in the deaths of American citizens. President Trump and this Department of Justice are committed to restoring a simple principle: If you kill Americans, we will pursue you. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what position you hold,” Blanche said in a statement.
The document also includes other individuals, the pilots who were allegedly involved in the downing, each of whom faces a charge of conspiracy to kill US citizens.
The accused have been identified as Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Bargaza, Raúl Simanca Cárdenas and Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez.
According to the Justice Department, if the defendants are found guilty, they could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment on charges of murder and conspiracy to kill US citizens.
Castro and Pérez-Pérez also face sentences of up to five years in prison for each of the aircraft destruction charges.
Among those charged, González-Pardo Rodríguez is already in US custody. He awaits sentencing in the United States for making false statements on an immigration document, according to the Department of Justice.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel posted a message on X in which he rejected the Justice Department’s decision.
“The alleged accusation against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, which the US government has just announced, only demonstrates the arrogance and frustration that the unwavering firmness of the Cuban Revolution and the unity and moral strength of its leadership provoke in the representatives of the empire,” he stated.
“This is a political action, without any legal basis, that only seeks to bolster the case they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba,” added the president, who described the downing of the planes in 1996 as an action “in legitimate self-defence”.
“The ethical stature and humanist spirit of his work refute any slanderous accusations levelled against Army General Raúl Castro. As a guerrilla leader and as a statesman, he won the love of his people, in addition to the respect and admiration of other leaders in the region and the world. These values are his best defence and a moral shield against the ridiculous attempt to diminish his heroic stature,” he concluded.
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez echoed this sentiment. On his X account, he called the accusation a “farce” and said it “aims to reinforce the fraudulent narrative to justify the intensified aggression against the Cuban people”.
“Cuba will not renounce its inalienable right to legitimate self-defence. We reaffirm our firm support for the Army General and our unwavering commitment to the defence of the Homeland, the Revolution, and Socialism,” he stated.
