U.S. preparing indictment of Raúl Castro, reports say

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Well, there are reports today of an escalation in tensions between the US and Cuba. The Trump administration is said to be preparing an indictment against Rahul Castro, the former president of the island nation. The move comes as highlevel talks have been taking place on economic cooperation and security. The CBC's Willie Lowry is following developments for us from Washington. So, Willie, news of this comes as we're also learning about a highstakes meeting between the CIA director and Cuban officials. What can you tell us about that?

[00:00:30]>> That's right, Arthy. This was really just the latest effort by the administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government and also a little bit of a of a show, if you will, by the Trump administration showing that they can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[00:00:46]While you have Trump and the Secretary of State and uh Secretary of Defense Pete Hagath in China, you have the CIA director John Ratcliffe in Cuba meeting with his counterpart as well as with Raul Rodriguez Castro. That's the grandson of former President Raul Castro. Ratcliffe's message was simple, that the administration is willing to engage on economic and security issues only if the Cuban government is willing to fundamentally change. President Donald Trump has openly mused about possible regime change on the island uh in the past and uh just yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with NBC that essentially the current Cuban government has been unable to help its people. Let's take a brief listen to Rubio.

[00:01:41]>> The current model they have is it's not just a it's broken. doesn't work and it'll never change as long as the people that are there now are running it. They are close-minded. Unfortunately, >> Cuba's government uh Cuba's sorry energy infrastructure is in tatters. It received almost all of its oil from Venezuela, which of course dried up following the US capture of Nicholas Maduro. And the US has placed a really punishing blockade around the country leading to these rolling blackouts that last as long as 24 hours at a time. On social media, Cuba's president called it a genocidal energy blockade. That just shows you uh Arthy how severe the situation currently is there.

[00:02:26]>> And when we talk about US Cuba, there's a few different angles to this story. As we mentioned, uh there is this uh indictment. So, what more are you hearing about reports of that US indictment for Cuba's former president?

[00:02:38]>> Yeah, the timing of this information leak is really something. Uh, so we have US media that is reporting that the Department of Justice is preparing an indictment against Raul Castro. He is of course the 94year-old brother of Fidel.

[00:02:54]He led Cuba from 2008 to 2018. And the indictment is expected to center on the downing of two planes in 1996 belonging to the humanitarian organization's uh brothers to the rescue. And Castro, while retired, still holds a significant amount of sway in Cuba. Uh President Trump uh said on Air Force One just a short while ago that he was not ready to comment on the indictment. Let's take a brief listen to the president speaking aboard Air Force One.

[00:03:29]>> Well, I don't want to comment on that.

[00:03:31]Let DOJ comment on it, but they need help as you know. And uh you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation or a country in decline. So, we're going to see. We have a lot to talk about on Cuba, but not maybe for tonight. Uh and according to those media reports, the indictment will have to go before a grand jury before uh anything progresses. How it might work in terms of trying to get Raul Castro to the US uh is anyone's guess.

[00:04:03]>> Okay, Willie, thank you for the latest on this. That is the CBC's Willie Lowry in Washington.