The United States plans to indict the former president of Cuba, Raúl Castrosaid an official from the US Department of Justice on Thursday night (14).
The timing of the possible indictment, which would need to be approved by a grand jury, was not immediately clear, but the official said it appears imminent.
It is expected that the possible indictment of the former Cuban president, 94 years old and brother of Fidel Castrofocus on shooting down aircraft, explained the source on condition of anonymity.
The American broadcaster CBS had already reported that the case refers to the fatal shooting, in 1996, of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.
Representatives from Cuba’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fact occurs in the midst of rising tensions between Washington and Havana. The Trump administration has described Cuba’s current communist government as corrupt and incompetent, and it is.
The American president Donald Trump increased pressure on the island, effectively imposing a blockade by threatening countries that supply fuel with sanctions, .
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has been overseeing an investigation into possible criminal charges against senior Cuban government officials.
Officials from both countries acknowledged earlier this year that they were in negotiations, but these appeared to have collapsed amid the .
However, on Thursday (14), the Cuban government, John Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe told intelligence officials in Cuba that the United States was prepared to engage in dialogue on economic security issues if the country made “fundamental changes,” an agency official said.
The United States has previously used criminal prosecutions of foreign political figures to justify military actions.
In January, when American armed forces attacked the Venezuelathe Trump administration described the operation as a “police action” to respond to criminal charges.
In March, Trump “would be next” after Venezuela.
