The Trump administration’s indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles is escalating pressure on the island’s socialist government.
FILE - A marcher holds a framed composite image of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, during the May Day parade at Revolution Square in Havana, May 1, 2025.
Santiago Ferran holds a sign calling for American intervention in Cuba, as a small group of Cubans turned out to wave flags and hold signs hours after federal prosecutors announced charges against Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Miami. President Donald Trump is seen in his limousine known as,"The Beast," upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md.
, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Trump attended the United States Coast Guard Academy commencement in New London, Conn. , where he delivered the commencement address. FILE - Raul Castro, right, watches the May Day parade accompanied by Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, second left, and Castro's grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, center, at Revolution Square in Havana, May 1, 2025.
is getting a second look from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency that suggested changes before itTrump has been escalating talk about regime change in Cuba ever since he sent the U.S. military to capture Venezuelanof U.S. relations with the communist-run island, including repeated meetings with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Castro known as “Raúlito.
”“China always firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and have no authorization from the United Nations Security Council and the abuse of judicial measures, and we also oppose external forces exerting pressure on Cuba under any pretext,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiankun said Thursday. The U.S. should “stop wielding the stick of sanctions and judicial measures” against the country, Guo added.
“China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference. ”to leave his imprint on Washington. Critics of the project, including an overwhelming number of people who submitted public comment in April, said the arch would be taller than any other monument in the capital city and dominate the skyline.at its monthly meeting in April. Commissioners are set to consider and possibly vote on updated plans when they meet again on Thursday.
The more than a dozen young Republicans who gathered with beers and brightly colored cocktails at a bar called dEcORa in Kentucky this week were picking apart the presidential administration they welcomed with high hopes last year. By now, their enthusiasm for Trump had curdled into frustration. What poured out at the bar was a sense that the Republican establishment — which they initially applauded Trump for disrupting, but which some now see him sustaining — had forsaken them.
That festering feeling has widened a generational gap between younger and older conservatives as the party slowly begins to consider a future without Trump in charge. Senate Republican leaders are expected to abandon a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex andon Thursday after members of their own party questioned the timing and the lack of detail in the Secret Service request.to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
But the security proposal met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who are questioning the cost and how the taxpayer dollars would be used. The bill’s text has not yet been released, but the Senate hopes to pass it this week and send it to the House before leaving for a weeklong Memorial Day recess. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
, said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if the cost were reduced.in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island’s socialist government.accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, who turns 95 next month, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time.
The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Five Cuban military pilots were also charged. Asked to what lengths American authorities would go to bring Castro to face charges in the U.S., acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “There was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.
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