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Original article: «Mienten y manipulan los sucesos alrededor del derribo de las avionetas»: Presidente de Cuba rechazó imputación de EEUU contra Raúl Castro

The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, strongly rejected the accusations made by the U.S. Department of Justice against former leader Raúl Castro, aged 94, asserting that it is a politically motivated action «without any legal basis» aimed solely at «bolstering the fabricated narrative to justify an ill-conceived military aggression» against the island.

The charges were filed in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging that Castro and other military officials ordered the downing on February 24, 1996, of two aircraft carrying three Cuban-American citizens and a legal resident of the U.S., who were allegedly heading to «assist» a group of rafters.

In response to these actions, the U.S. has charged Raúl Castro with murder, conspiracy to kill Americans, and destruction of aircraft, which, according to the Cuban President, «only illustrates the arrogance and frustration that the representatives of the empire feel towards the unwavering strength of the Cuban Revolution and the unity and moral fortitude of its leadership.»

Díaz-Canel denounced that the U.S. «lies and manipulates the events surrounding the downing of the aircraft belonging to the drug terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.»

He emphasized that «there is ample documentary evidence that actions were not taken recklessly nor was international law violated, as has been the case with U.S. military forces, which carry out coldly calculated and openly publicized extrajudicial executions of civilian vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.»

He further stated that «on February 24, 1996, Cuba acted in legitimate self-defense within its territorial waters, following repeated and dangerous violations of our airspace by notorious terrorists, of which the current U.S. administration was alerted more than a dozen times but ignored the warnings and allowed the violations to continue.»

Regarding Raúl Castro’s legacy, Díaz-Canel highlighted that «the ethical stature and humanistic vision of his work defeat any slander that may be attempted against him.»

«As a guerrilla leader and statesman, he earned the love of his people, along with the respect and admiration of other leaders in the region and around the world. These values are his best defense and a moral shield against the ridiculous attempts to undermine his stature as a hero,» stated the Cuban President.

Support from Chile

Meanwhile, from Chile, the Communist Party expressed its solidarity with the Cuban people and former President Raúl Castro through a statement, rejecting this «new maneuver» by the U.S. against Cuba, which they warned has «no other objective than to justify a military aggression against the island by politically weaponizing judicial systems.»

The Chilean Communist Party stated, «we have seen these imperialist maneuvers before, as was the case against Venezuela, with the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.»

For the Chilean PC, «the intervention against Venezuela made it clear that Trump has no respect for the norms of International Law, the principle of non-intervention, and the sovereignty of peoples, all of which have been questioned by the international community, considering that since World War II, international norms have been established to preserve world peace.»

We will continue to provide updates.

La entrada «U.S. Accusations Against Raúl Castro Are Political Fabrications»: Cuban President Denounces U.S. Claims se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.