U.S. Justice Department Examining Possible Charges Against Raúl Castro

Raúl Castro resigned in 2021 as first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the highest position of power on the island. The role passed to Miguel Díaz-Canel, who said he would preserve the revolution. Castro had held the post for nearly six decades following his brother Fidel Castro.

At the closing of the 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in April 2021, Castro said that as long as he lived he would be ready "with his foot in the stirrup" to defend socialist Cuba. In the years since, he has participated on occasion in central events celebrating the triumph of the Cuban revolution and received some presidents and political leaders from allied countries at the National Palace.

This week it emerged that the U.S. Justice Department is working to secure criminal charges against Castro, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. While the scope of the investigation is unclear, federal prosecutors have examined a number of possible charges, including some related to the Cuban military’s 1996 downing of two planes belonging to the Cuban-American exile organization Brothers to the Rescue.

Born on June 3, 1931, in Birán in the province of Holguín in eastern Cuba, Raúl Castro is the youngest of seven siblings. He followed his brother Fidel from a young age. The two participated in the assault on the Moncada barracks, served two years in prison, went into exile in Mexico, and joined the Granma yacht expedition.

In the Sierra Maestra, Fidel entrusted Raúl with command of the Second Eastern Front, a guerrilla structure whose role was decisive in overthrowing Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. Three weeks later, Fidel publicly announced that Raúl would be his successor if he died in the struggle.

Raúl later served as minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and reached the rank of army general.

Castro said he was leaving his post as first secretary "with the satisfaction of duty fulfilled" and that he had confidence in the country’s future. He promoted reforms within the Communist Party that limited time in political and state positions to two consecutive five-year terms.

During his government, Cuba also implemented economic changes that opened spaces for the private sector, including self-employment known as cuentapropistas. On March 13, President Díaz-Canel confirmed at a press conference that talks held with the United States government to seek a solution to the embargo imposed on the island had been led by Raúl Castro and himself.

After the January capture of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on other countries that sold crude oil to Cuba. The moves have provoked what officials described as the worst energy crisis in the island’s recent history.

>"The party is just a façade.