Communist Party of Cuba condemns new imperialist move

The Revolutionary Government of Cuba has issued a statement condemning this move. 

"The Revolutionary Government condemns in the strongest terms the vile accusation made by the United States Department of Justice, announced on May 20 and promoted over several weeks, against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution.

The government of the United States lacks legitimacy and jurisdiction to carry out this action. It is a despicable and infamous act of political provocation, based on the dishonest manipulation of the incident that led to the downing, over Cuban airspace in February 1996, of two aircraft operated by the terrorist organization “Brothers to the Rescue,” based in Miami, whose repeated violations of Cuban airspace with hostile aims were a matter of obvious public knowledge.

The U.S. government, moreover, distorts other historical truths about the event it uses as a pretext. It omits, among other details, the multiple formal complaints filed by Cuba at the time with the U.S. Department of State, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), regarding more than 25 serious and deliberate violations of Cuban airspace carried out by the said organization between 1994 and 1996, in open breach of international law and U.S. legislation itself.

It also ignores the public and official warnings issued by Cuban authorities about the inadmissibility of such violations of its airspace, and the alerts directly conveyed to the President of the United States regarding the seriousness and possible consequences of such transgressions.

Cuba’s response to the violation of its airspace constituted an act of legitimate self-defense, protected under the Charter of the United Nations, the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the principles of air sovereignty and proportionality.

The United States, which has itself been a victim of the use of civil aviation for terrorist purposes, does not allow and would not allow hostile and provocative violations by foreign aircraft over its territory, and would act, as it has demonstrated, with the use of force.

The inaction of the U.S. government in response to the alerts transmitted by Cuba at the time exposed its complicity in the planning and execution from its territory of violent, illegal, and terrorist actions against the Cuban government and people, a recurrent and systematic practice since the triumph of the Revolution to the present day.

It is deeply cynical that this accusation should be made by the same government that has killed nearly 200 people and destroyed 57 vessels in international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, far from U.S. territory, through the disproportionate use of military force, on the basis of alleged links to drug trafficking operations that were never proven—acts that qualify as extrajudicial executions under international law and as murders under U.S. law itself.

This spurious accusation against the Leader of the Cuban Revolution joins the desperate attempts of anti-Cuban elements to construct a fraudulent narrative in an effort to justify the collective and merciless punishment of the noble Cuban people, through the strengthening of unilateral coercive measures, including the unjust and genocidal energy blockade and threats of armed aggression.

Cuba reaffirms its commitment to peace and its firm determination to exercise the inalienable right to self-defense recognized by the Charter of the United Nations.

The Cuban people reaffirm their unwavering decision to defend the Homeland and its Socialist Revolution and, with the greatest strength and firmness, their unconditional and steadfast support for Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Leader of the Cuban Revolution.

“Homeland or Death, We Shall Overcome.”

Havana, May 20, 2026."

Díaz-Canel

Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the action and said, "The alleged indictment against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, just announced by the U.S. government, only demonstrates the arrogance and frustration that the representatives of the empire feel in the face of the unbreakable firmness of the Cuban Revolution and the unity and moral strength of its leadership.

This is a political action, with no legal foundation whatsoever, whose sole purpose is to enlarge the fabricated case file they are building to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.

The ethical stature and humanist spirit of his life’s work demolish any slander that may be raised against Army General Raúl Castro. Both as a guerrilla commander and as a statesman, he earned the love of his people, along with the respect and admiration of other leaders throughout the region and the world. Those values are his best defense and a moral shield against the ridiculous attempt to diminish his stature as a hero."

Roberto Morales Ojeda

Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Politbureau of the Communist Party of Cuba said, "Raúl Castro Ruz embodies the most genuine essence of the Cuban Revolution thanks to his ability to lead through modesty and personal example. His trajectory has been an uninterrupted lesson in loyalty to Cuba and to Fidel—not as an act of uncritical adherence, but as a profound commitment that has always led him to stand wherever the Homeland has required him. His greatness has never needed grandstanding or spotlights; it is expressed in the natural way he assumed the highest responsibilities, placing the cause above personal prominence and demonstrating that power only has meaning when exercised as a service to the people.

Raúl has also cultivated an exceptional human sensitivity, expressed in his extraordinary ability to listen. This is not a formal kind of listening, but one that investigates, takes notes, remembers, and acts, which has led him to encourage critical thinking within the Revolution. He understands that a revolutionary project can only grow stronger when it is capable of examining itself, correcting mistakes, and opening spaces for sincere dialogue. For that reason, the Cuban people’s affection for Raúl does not need to be decreed: it arises from the everyday recognition of a leader who has kept both his feet and his ears close to the land he loves so deeply—a bond built over decades of quiet dedication and small gestures that popular memory preserves with gratitude.

For all these reasons, the Cuban people are absolutely certain that they will defend Raúl’s physical integrity, ethical standing, and legacy at any cost. Defending his legacy means embracing the continuity of the Revolution, updating the economic model without losing its socialist essence, educating new generations, and upholding the fundamental lesson that one can be revolutionary with firmness, with constructive criticism, and with unwavering loyalty to the people."

Bruno Rodríguez Parilla

Cuban Foreign Minister Rodríguez Parilla said, "The USA seeks to reinforce a fraudulent narrative in order to justify intensified aggression against the Cuban people. This is being done by the same government that has been complicit in the organization and execution of terrorist and violent actions against Cuba from its territory, and which has recently committed crimes of extrajudicial executions against nearly 200 people in the international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, based on alleged links to drug trafficking operations."

Call for a rally 

And the Young Communist League, mass organizations, student organizations, and youth movements called on the people of the capital to gather at the historic José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune this Friday, May 22, at 7:30 in the morning, to condemn the despicable and infamous act of the United States Department of Justice against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Leader of the Cuban Revolution, and to support the Declaration of the Revolutionary Government.