U.S. indicts former Cuban president Raul Castro, escalating Trump pressure campaign

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The Trump administration has been steadily ramping up the political and economic pressure on the Cuban regime over the past few months. This indictment turns the screws even more tightly. 

The White House's most severe pressure on Cuba so far has been the oil embargo imposed this winter. After ousting Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro from power, the U.S. Cut Cuba off from its chief supplier of oil, bringing the island's economy to its knees. 

The ensuing fuel shortages triggered cascading impacts: electricity blackouts, airlines stopping flights to the country and the near-collapse of tourist revenue. 

In parallel came Trump's more-than-implicit threats of forcing regime change on Cuba, whether through economic pressure, an allegedly "friendly takeover" or outright military action. 

Over this period, Trump officials have engaged in negotiations about Cuba's future, including reportedly with potential new leaders who they believe could open the country up to U.S. Business interests. 

No fuel, no tourists: Cuba reels under Trump's oil embargo

The crushing U.S. Oil embargo on Cuba is making life more desperate on the impoverished island. Gasoline now sells for $10 US per litre on the black market, and a sharp drop in tourism has sapped the economy of what little foreign income it had.

Former Cuban president Raul Castro has been indicted on murder charges in the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday. 

U.S. President Donald Trump called Cuba "a rogue state harbouring hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations just 90 miles from the American homeland," in a statement Wednesday. 

Over several months, Trump has been on a pressure campaign against the Caribbean island's communist government, which has been in charge since Raul Castro's late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.

The charges against Raul 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 U.S. Justice Department (DOJ)  official told Reuters last week on the condition of anonymity.

The Miami U.S. Attorney's office is planning to host an event starting at 1 p.m. ET to honour victims of the incident. 

The DOJ said on Tuesday it would make an announcement in conjunction with the ceremony, but did not provide details about the announcement.

The U.S. Has effectively imposed a blockade on Cuba by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, triggering power outages and exacerbating its worst crisis in decades.

In a video message addressed to the Cuban people on Wednesday morning, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents were Cuban immigrants to the United States, offered to forge a new relationship between the two countries.

He said the U.S. Could provide $100 million US in aid, and blamed Cuba's leaders for shortages of electricity, food and fuel.

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