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WRAP: US charges Raul Castro with murder as Trump escalates pressure on Cuba

VIDEO SHOWS: WRAP OF EVENTS SURROUNDING INDICTMENT OF FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A WRAP AND CONTAINS NO NEW MATERIAL. EDIT NUMBERS AND SCRIPTING INFORMATION ARE INCLUDED IN SHOTLIST

SHOWS: Former Cuban President Raul Castro has been indicted in the United States on murder charges, U.S acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday (May 20), in a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against the island's government. The indictment against Castro, returned in federal court in Miami on April 23, charges him with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft, Blanche said. Five other people are also named as defendants in the case. (2300-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-INDICTMENT)

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. GENERAL VIEW OF OFFICIALS ARRIVING ON PODIUM, INCLUDING U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE, SAYING:

"Today, we are announcing an indictment charging Raul Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals."

3. GENERAL VIEW OF PODIUM AMID APPLAUSE

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE, SAYING:

"The indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in this district in Miami on April 23, 2026, then was unsealed today. For nearly 30 years - 30 years - the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice."

5. GENERAL VIEW OF EVENT

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE, SAYING:

"As alleged in the indictment, Raul Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those civilian planes, and killing four Americans."

On the streets of Havana, opinions were mixed but largely resistant to outside intervention. (2242-CUBA-CRISIS/INDICTMENT-REACTION)

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 19, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

7. MONUMENT TO JOSE MARTI IN REVOLUTION SQUARE NEXT TO AVENUE WITH TRAFFIC

8. CUBAN FLAG WAVING

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, SEFERINO CASALLES, SAYING:

“First of all, I don’t agree with any country intervening here in Cuba, not the United States, nor anyone else. Second, I don’t think we should be holding Raul (Castro) accountable for something that happened 30 years ago, when what was really at stake was… what if the small plane had crashed here in the city? Or if there had been an accident for some other reason? I don’t think we should be judging Raul (Castro) for any of that. And the other thing is that there really must be a change here.”

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 15, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

10. VARIOUS OF BANNER ON AVENUE FEATURING IMAGES OF CUBAN LEADER FIDEL CASTRO (LEFT), FORMER PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO (CENTRE), AND CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL (RIGHT)

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 19, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

11. HEADQUARTERS BUILDING OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR OF CUBA, WITH A CUBAN FLAG AND A RELIEF PORTRAIT OF REVOLUTIONARY FIGURE CHE GUEVARA ON THE FACADE

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, JUAN CARLOS IMBERT, SAYING:

“It comes from a very specific segment of American society, particularly in Miami, that has never gotten over the Bay of Pigs incident (referring to the Bay of Pigs invasion), 30 years later, the Brothers to the Rescue incident happened, and now they’re trying to bring them to justice for an act that was self-defence and took place in a specific context, basically in Cuban territorial waters, and it’s a right to self-defence that any nation has. And I believe that, fundamentally, what this is specifically seeking to do is to escalate the conflict a bit further at a difficult time for both nations.”

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 19, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

13. HEADQUARTERS BUILDING OF THE MINISTRY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES NEXT TO BUSY AVENUE

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, ROSEMARY RYAN, SAYING:

“This is a diplomatic limbo that keeps the people, above all, on edge, and there is no better defence than the truth, and the truth always comes to light.”

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 19, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

15. AVENUE WITH BUILDING WITH CUBAN FLAG PAINTED IN THE BACKGROUND

Four U.S. Congressional representatives, all of whom were born in Cuba or whose parents were Cuban, praised the Trump administration's decision to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro. (2231-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-CONGRESS)

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. U.S. REPRESENTATIVES MARIO DIAZ-BALART (REP-FL), NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (REP-NY), CARLOS GIMENEZ (REP-FL) AND MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (REP-FL) WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE

17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM FLORIDA, MARIO DIAZ-BALART, SAYING:

"We expect that the day of justice is finally arriving and that these individuals and I want to mention their names again: Mario de la Pena, Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa and Armando Alejandre will have their day of justice."

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM FLORIDA, MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, SAYING:

“The message is for the Castro family: Understand this well, that your days are over. A federal indictment is serious stuff.”

The indictment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a regime change in Cuba, where Castro's allies have been in charge since his late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959. (2334-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-INDICTMENT-DOCUMENT)

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

19. COURT DOCUMENT SHOWING INDICTMENT, OF FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO THROWN OVER TABLE

20. FRONT PAGE OF INDICTMENT

21. DETAILS OF INDICTMENT FRONT PAGE

22. DETAIL OF DOCUMENT SHOWING RAUL CASTRO'S PHOTOGRAPH

23. DOCUMENT SHEETS SPREAD OVER TABLE WITH CASTRO'S PHOTO

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Wednesday rejected the U.S. indictment of former president Raul Castro as a politically motivated move lacking any legal foundation. In a post on X, Diaz-Canel said the charges were designed to justify what he called a potential military attack on Cuba, dismissing the indictment as a fabrication. He accused the United States of lying and manipulating the facts surrounding the 1996 incident, describing Brothers to the Rescue as a "narco-terrorist organization." (2313-CUBA-CRISIS/INDICTMENT-REACTION-PRESIDENT)

INTERNET (MAY 20, 2026) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

24. SCREEN RECORDING OF POST ON X FROM CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL

25. SCREENSHOT OF POST ON X FROM CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, READING (Spanish):

"The alleged charges against Army General Raul Castro Ruz, which the U.S. government has just announced, only serve to highlight the arrogance and frustration felt by the representatives of the empire in the face of the Cuban Revolution’s unwavering resolve and the unity and moral strength of its leadership.

This is a political manoeuvre, without any legal basis, that seeks only to pad the dossier they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military attack on #Cuba.

The U.S. lies and manipulates the events surrounding the downing of the small planes belonging to the narco-terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue in 1996."

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States is "freeing up Cuba" and he can't say what's next for the island nation, hours after his Department of Justice indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro. (2335-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-TRUMP)

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (U.S. NETWORK POOL - Broadcast: No use USA Digital: No use USA)

26. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING DOWN STAIRS OF AIR FORCE ONE

27. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"We have Cuba on our mind. Very important. A lot of problems for a lot of years. I think it was a very big moment for people - not only Cuban-Americans but people that came from Cuba that want to go back to Cuba, people that want to see their family in Cuba, I think it's a very big day, a very important day."

28. WHITE FLASH

29. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"We'll see what happens. But we're freeing up Cuba."

30. WHITE FLASH

31. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, IN EXCHANGE WITHO OFF-CAMERA REPORTER, SAYING:

REPORTER: “Should we expect any escalation here?”

TRUMP: “With Cuba? No. No there won't be escalation. I don't think there needs to be."

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday welcomed the indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro on murder charges linked to the 1996 incident of two civilian aircraft operated by a Miami-based Cuban exile group. Speaking in Washington on Cuba’s Independence Day, Republican Senator Rick Scott called the indictment “a good day for America and it’s a good day for Cuba,” adding that Castro and current Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel were “not legitimate leaders.” (2340-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-SENATORS)

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

32. OFFICIALS ENTERING ROOM / (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR, RICK SCOTT, SAYING:

"I think today's a day that a lot of us have been involved in trying to make the right thing happen in Cuba; are happy about. So May 20th, Cuba's Independence Day. Finally. Finally, after a lot of us have been calling for this. Raul Castro's been indicted. And that is a good day for America and it's a good day for Cuba. Every one of us up here have been fighting for independence and freedom and opportunity for all the people in Cuba for a long time. First of all, let's really acknowledge this. Raul Castro, Miguel Diaz-Canel, they're not legitimate leaders.”

Cuba's government strongly denied on Wednesday allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice against former President and revolutionary leader Raul Castro, dismissing the charges as politically motivated and legally invalid. In a statement read on Cuban state television by an anchor, the Cuban government condemned what it described as a "despicable and infamous act of political provocation," arguing that Washington "lacks the legitimacy and jurisdiction" to pursue such action. (2349-CUBA-CRISIS/INDICTMENT-STATEMENT)

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 20, 2026) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

33. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN STATE TV ANCHOR, HUMBERTO LOPEZ, SAYING:

"Statement by the Revolutionary Government. Cuba condemns the despicable accusation against the Leader of the Revolution. The Revolutionary Government condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable accusation by the U.S. Department of Justice announced on May 20 and publicized for several weeks against Army General Raul Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution. The U.S. government lacks the legitimacy and jurisdiction to carry out this action. This is a despicable and infamous act of political provocation, based on the dishonest manipulation of the incident that led to the shooting down, over Cuban airspace, in February 1996, of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue.”

The United States expects former Cuban President Raul Castro to appear in the country "by his own will or by another way" after he was indicted on murder charges, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters on Wednesday. (2295-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-INDICTMENT-UPDATE)

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

34. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE, IN EXCHANGE WITH OFF-CAMERA REPORTER: SAYING:

REPORTER: “What are the prospects that you could get Raul Castro to the United States to face justice, given the situation there? And what state steps are the U.S. willing to take to get him back here?”

BLANCHE: “Well, we indict men outside of this country all the time. And there's all kinds of different ways that we get them here. The reason why we indict somebody is because we want them here to face justice in front of a jury of their peers. How we go about doing that obviously depends on the circumstances in the case and I'm not going to go beyond that, but we expect, we didn't indict. This isn't a show indictment. This is an indictment because we expect that, there was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here by his own will or by another way. (APPLAUSE) Next question.”

35. PEOPLE APPLAUDING

Cuban expatriates and US nationals with roots on the island shared a sense of optimism on Wednesday (May 20) following the announcement of murder charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro. At Miami's Domino Park, Cuban migrants said Castro should face trial like Nazi officers after World War Two, even if the crimes he is charged with happened 30 years ago. (2314-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-REACTION)

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

36. DOMINO PARK ENTRANCE

37. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEFT CUBA IN 1980 DURING MARIEL PORT EXILE, MARTIN RABELL, SAYING:

"I want that when they (US) go to Cuba, the first ones they should remove are Raul and Diaz Canel, and some commanders who are in the government, who were murderers there. Bring them here.”

38. DOMINO GAME IN PROGRESS

39. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN WHO MOVED ABROAD IN 1999, ALEJANDRO TORRES, SAYING:

"We should do them the same same thing that was done to the Nazis, hold a trial, prosecute them, you know, and make them pay for everything, for all the filth, for all the shit they have done in Cuba. Those people, I think, for me, are more murderous than the Nazis.”

40. DOMINO GAME IN PROGRESS

Cuba's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio warned on Wednesday that any U.S. military action against Cuban officials indicted by Washington would meet "fierce resistance" from the Cuban people. (2385-CUBA-CRISIS/INDICTMENT-MINISTER)

HAVANA, CUBA (MAY 20, 2026) (CUBAVISION - Access all)

41. CUBAN STATE TV PANEL DISCUSSION IN PROGRESS IN RESPONSE TO U.S. INDICTMENT OF FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO

42. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBA'S VICE-MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, CARLOS FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO, SAYING:

"Its protection is not justice. Its protection is the use of the colossal military power that the United States government has. And it must be said, and it must be clear, that any attempt to use this excuse for action against these comrades within Cuba will meet with fierce resistance from the Cuban people. This is what I can say about these accusations."

Cuban migrants in Miami are looking to the U.S. ousting of Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro with hope but also trepidation, after an indictment was issued against Cuba's former president Raul Castro. Following the indictment, on Wednesday Cubans in Miami demonstrated near the famous Cafe Versailles in Little Havana. (2389-CUBA-CRISIS/USA-REACTION-UPDATE)

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

43. PROTESTER, SANTIAGO FERRAN, HOLDING UP SIGN WITH CUBAN AND AMERICAN FLAGS READING (English): "Intervene now, no dialogue."

44. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER LIVING IN THE US FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS, SANTIAGO FERRAN, SAYING:

"It happened with Maduro and there was not a single civilian casualty. This can be done with Cuba. Many planes with American technology have already passed by and have detected everything that needs to be detected on the island of Cuba. They already know where all the Castros are; the dictatorship is the evil and harm for the entire American hemisphere."

45. PROTESTER, AGUSTIN ACOSTA, HOLDING UP SIGN WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF CURRENT AND FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENTS, MIGUEL DIAZ CANEL AND RAUL CASTRO READING (English): "Assassins and terrorists."

46. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 78-YEAR-OLD CUBAN LIVING IN FLORIDA, AGUSTIN ACOSTA, SAYING:

"They have been the ones who have sown terror in the world. They are the main violators of all the rights of United Nations agreements, and now they want to present themselves as if they are the victims. No, they are not a constitutional government; they are outlaws, they are criminals who took over the nation and have turned it to dust."

47. ACOSTA HOLDING UP SIGN