US expected to unveil criminal charges against Cubas Raul Castro

The Trump administration is expected ​to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday, in a move that would mark a step-up in ‌Washington’s pressure campaign against the Caribbean island’s communist government.The charges against Castro, 94, are expected to be based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles, a US Justice Department official told Reuters last week on the condition of anonymity.The Miami US Attorney’s office is planning to host ​an event starting at 1 p.m.EDT to honor victims of the incident.

The Justice Department said on Tuesday it would make ​an announcement in conjunction with the ceremony, but did not provide details about the announcement.President Donald Trump has been ⁠seeking regime change in Cuba, where communists have been in charge since Raul Castro’s late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.The US has effectively imposed a blockade on the island by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, triggering power outages and delivering blows to its already ​fragile economy.Cuba has yet to comment directly on the threat of indictment though Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez expressed defiance in public comments on May 15.“Despite the (US) embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty towards its socialist development,” Rodriguez said.Born in 1931, Raul Castro was a ​key figure alongside his older brother in the guerrilla war that toppled US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.He helped defeat the US-organized Bay of Pigs ​invasion in 1961, and served as defense minister for decades.He succeeded his brother as president and remains a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in Cuban politics.He was defense minister ‌at the ⁠time of the 1996 incident.The two small planes that were shot down were being flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a group of Miami-based Cub...