By Zainab Bakare
China has criticised the United States over the indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, accusing Washington of using “coercion” and threats against Cuba amid rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The reaction followed the decision by a US court to charge the 94-year-old former Cuban president with conspiracy to kill US nationals over the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by the Cuban-American dissident group Brothers to the Rescue.
The incident, which occurred between Cuba and Florida, resulted in the deaths of four people, including three US citizens.
Speaking on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing firmly supported Cuba and opposed what it described as the misuse of sanctions and judicial measures against the island nation.
“The United States should stop threatening force at every turn,” Guo said, while urging Washington to end what China called the use of sanctions and legal actions as tools of pressure against Cuba.
The indictment marks a major escalation in pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump against Cuba’s communist government. Castro, who served as Cuba’s defence minister at the time of the 1996 incident and later became president, was charged alongside five others with offences carrying penalties ranging from life imprisonment to death.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed the charges as politically motivated and lacking legal basis, while China reiterated its opposition to external interference in Cuba’s affairs.
The latest development comes as the White House intensifies economic and diplomatic pressure on Cuba through new sanctions targeting the country’s energy, defence, financial, and security sectors.
The measures have worsened fuel shortages, blackouts, and economic hardship on the island.
China and Cuba have strengthened ties in recent years, particularly after Cuba joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, leading to increased Chinese investment in strategic infrastructure projects across the Caribbean nation.
