Washington is reportedly preparing to indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old brother of Fidel Castro, as the United States intensifies pressure on the communist-run island amid a deepening energy crisis, US media reported on Thursday.
An indictment of Raúl Castro would mark a dramatic escalation in US-Cuba relations, which have deteriorated sharply under President Donald Trump. The island is suffering near-constant blackouts, which Havana attributes to a US fuel blockade that has tightened since the toppling of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in January.
According to CBS News, the possible indictment would focus on the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft piloted by anti-Castro activists. The US Department of Justice has not commented on the report.
Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother as president in 2008, oversaw the historic 2015 rapprochement with the United States under Barack Obama—a policy Trump reversed upon taking office. The former president remains a powerful figure in Cuba, though he stepped down as head of the Communist Party in 2021.
CIA director visits Havana amid crisis
In a parallel development, CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba on Thursday, an extraordinary step-up in contact between the two countries. The Cuban government framed the meeting as an opportunity to calm tensions, while the CIA confirmed the visit in a statement and posted photos on X showing Ratcliffe meeting with Ramón Romero Curbelo, head of intelligence at Cuba's Interior Ministry, and other officials.
The visit comes as Cuba declares it has run out of oil. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy told state television: "The impact of the blockade is indeed causing us significant harm... because we are still not receiving fuel." Only one tanker from Russia, a historic ally, has managed to reach the island.
In a statement, the Cuban government said the talks with Ratcliffe "made it possible to demonstrate categorically that Cuba does not constitute a threat to US national security, nor are there any legitimate reasons to include it on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism." Cuba emphasised it "has never supported any hostile activity against the United States, nor will it permit actions against any other nation to be carried out from Cuba," a reference to US allegations of a Chinese presence on the island.
Despite the tensions, inter-governmental dialogue continues. A high-level diplomatic meeting took place in Havana on 10 April—the first time a US government plane landed in the Cuban capital since 2016.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has renewed an offer of €85 million in aid, but on condition that the assistance be distributed by the Catholic Church, bypassing the Cuban government. In an interview with NBC News, Rubio said: "The Cuban people should know there's $100 million of food and medicine available for them right now. It's in our national interest to have a prosperous Cuba, not to have a failed state 90 miles from our shores."
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded on X, urging Washington to lift the blockade instead. "The damage could be eased in a much simpler and faster way by lifting or relaxing the blockade, since it is known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced," he wrote.
The crisis has also drawn in European actors. The EU has long maintained a critical stance toward the US embargo on Cuba, and European diplomats have called for humanitarian exemptions. The situation echoes broader geopolitical tensions, as seen in the Strait of Hormuz crisis, where external powers are vying for influence. Meanwhile, European energy markets are grappling with their own supply challenges, as highlighted by the jet fuel crisis affecting travel to Spain.
