Residents of Havana pushed back on Wednesday (May 20) against the prospect of U.S. criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro, even as some acknowledged their country cannot continue on its current path.

The Trump administration is expected to announce criminal charges against Castro, 94, based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles. The charges were confirmed to Reuters last week by a U.S. Justice Department official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered $100 million in aid to Cuba and called for a new relationship with Washington, blaming the island's leaders for chronic shortages of electricity, food and fuel. Cuba's embassy in the U.S. responded Wednesday morning, saying Rubio had lied and that the United States was subjecting the island to cruelty.

On the streets of Havana, opinions were mixed but largely resistant to outside intervention. Resident Seferino Casalles said he opposed any foreign interference in Cuban affairs and questioned the fairness of holding Castro accountable for events three decades ago, while also conceding that change was needed. "We can't go on like this; we mustn't go on like this," he said.

Isabel Alarcon defended the 1996 shootdown, saying the exiles' planes had no right to enter Cuban airspace. Fabio Roque took a more measured tone, saying closer ties with the United States would benefit the Cuban people.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

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

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

2. CUBAN FLAG WAVING

3. MONUMENT

4. VARIOUS OF BUSY STREETS IN OLD HAVANA

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

5. (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, not just an internal change on our part, but a change we must make, because we can’t go on like this; we mustn’t go on like this.”

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

6. 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 20, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, ISABEL ALARCON, SAYING:

“That (ed’s note: referring to the 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles) was justified because they were invading a foreign country in the first place. You can’t have someone come into your home to rule—you’re the one who should be in charge in your own home, not some outsider. I think that’s very wrong. And they did the right thing by shooting down those planes.”

8. U.S. EMBASSY BUILDING

9. SCULPTURE OF THE CUBAN FLAG IN A SQUARE WITH THE U.S. EMBASSY BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, FABIO ROQUE, SAYING:

“I believe it’s in our best interest to build closer ties with the United States because, after all, it’s a world power and controls a large portion of the international market. And regarding the allegations against Raul (Castro) and all that, well, we have to think about the well-being of the Cuban people; we have to think about the well-being of the Cubans, and what’s important is to work on what’s beneficial for both them and us. Whether he did it or not, well, I really can’t get into that part—but I have no basis or evidence to say one way or the other.”

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

11. POST ON X FROM CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL READING (Spanish):

“Intervention, interference, dispossession, frustration. That is what May 20 means in the history of #Cuba.

There is only one thing to be grateful for on that day: that it instilled in the Cubans of that era an anti-imperialist sentiment that every subsequent generation has felt grow deeper in the face of new and constant threats to the independence and sovereignty of the homeland.

Here is further proof: another #May20 in which the mercenaries of dishonor are clamoring for the return of the tutelary republic.

Let us not underestimate them, but never forget that, thanks to the empire’s own actions, we anti-imperialists are far more numerous.”