Former Cuban President Raul Castro, indicted in May by American justice and who had not been seen in public for several months, reappeared Thursday August 13 in Havana on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of his late brother Fidel Castro.
Raul Castro, aged 95 and dressed in his traditional olive green uniform, received a standing ovation when he entered the Karl Marx theater in the Cuban capital, where the ceremony took place, AFP journalists noted. Raul sat in an armchair next to Fidel’s widow, Dalia Soto del Valle, who rarely makes appearances at public events.
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Although Raul Castro does not hold any official position in the government or the ruling Cuban Communist Party, he maintains an important role in political decisions and enjoys the loyalty of the armed forces.
Historic economic reforms in Cuba
Thursday’s event featured La Colmenita, a Cuban children’s theater troupe that was one of Fidel’s favorites. Toward the end of the performance, Raul Castro stood up and motioned for the crowd to do the same and applaud.
In June, Cuba’s presidency announced that it had given the green light to economic reforms to deal with the crisis, under pressure from the United States. These measures represent the biggest paradigm shift since Cuba adopted communism nearly 70 years ago.
Raul Castro’s last public appearance was on May 1, in front of the United States embassy in Havana, where he appeared weakened. He was then seen on state television during two events in June. The younger brother of the late Fidel Castro (1926-2016), the sworn enemy of the United States, was indicted in May in Miami for the deaths of four Americans after two small planes of an anti-Castro group were shot down in 1996. Raul Castro was defense minister at the time.
US “maximum pressure” policy
The Cuban Communist Party has been celebrating for several days the late “Lider Maximo” who ruled Cuba from 1959 to 2008 – through exhibitions, concerts and conferences. But this year, the August 13 anniversary comes as Cuba is going through one of the worst crises in its history, with severe shortages of food and water, and chronic power cuts.
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The administration of American President Donald Trump has applied a policy of “maximum pressure” against Cuba, particularly since the overthrow, in early January, during an American military operation, of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, until then Havana’s greatest ally.
In addition to the fuel blockade imposed in January, which caused the island’s worst economic and energy crisis in decades, President Trump has in recent months launched sanctions against the country’s leaders, businesses and institutions. He says Cuba, located 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida, poses “an extraordinary threat” to US national security and has repeatedly threatened to “take over” the country.
As for Cuba, “all options are on the table, including military options,” US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday to journalists who accompanied him during a trip to Panama. “Cuba would do well to take into account President Trump’s determination to assert American strategic prerogatives,” he added.
With AFP
