World

Cuba's Raul Castro, wanted by US, appears at event in Havana

By Reuters Reuters

Updated June 6, 2026 4:18 AM

FILE PHOTO: Cuba's former President Raul Castro watches a May Day rally in Havana, Cuba May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo — FILE PHOTO: Cuba's former President Raul Castro watches a May Day rally in Havana, Cuba May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo Norlys Perez Reuters

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HAVANA - Cuba's former leader Raul Castro appeared at an Interior Ministry celebration in Havana, showed state television on Friday, in the elder statesman's first public appearance since his indictment on murder charges last month in the United States.

The Trump administration has accused the former defense minister of ordering Cuban military jets to shoot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles in 1996, a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against the island's communist government.

Castro, who turned 95 on Wednesday, was last seen in public a month ago during May 1 festivities in Havana, just prior to his indictment.

He had previously not been seen since January 15, when he appeared in a public ceremony in the capital paying homage to the 32 Cuban soldiers killed during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Alien Fernandez, Editing by Iñigo Alexander)

A man checks his phone at an office of the Ministry of Finance and Prices underneath a framed poster of Cuba's late President Fidel Castro, his brother, former President Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country marks Raul Castro's 95th birthday after U.S. authorities charged him with murder in connection with the downing of civilian airplanes in 1996 and amid sanctions and a fuel blockade by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in Havana, Cuba, June 3, 2026. The writing on the poster reads “We are Cuba, we are continuity.” REUTERS/Norlys Perez — A man checks his phone at an office of the Ministry of Finance and Prices underneath a framed poster of Cuba's late President Fidel Castro, his brother, former President Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country marks Raul Castro's 95th birthday after U.S. authorities charged him with murder in connection with the downing of civilian airplanes in 1996 and amid sanctions and a fuel blockade by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in Havana, Cuba, June 3, 2026. The writing on the poster reads “We are Cuba, we are continuity.” REUTERS/Norlys Perez Norlys Perez Reuters

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 1:32 AM.