CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The Indictment of Raúl Castro: A New Low in U.S. Cuba Policy

President Barack Obama meets with Cuban President Raúl Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, April 11, 2015. (Official White House photo)

So apparently the Trump administration has decided that what Cuba really needs right now — after decades of economic strangulation, CIA assassination attempts, sabotage campaigns, invasions, sanctions, blackouts, shortages, and more than half a century of failed regime-change policy — is the indictment of 94-year-old revolutionary icon Raúl Castro.

The United States and Cuba do not have to be enemies. In fact, just 10 years ago, the two countries were normalizing relations. I was in Panama City at the 2015 Summit of the Americas when, to the delight of everyone there, Barack Obama and Raúl Castro famously shook hands, marking the first substantial public interaction between leaders of the two countries in decades. Obama said, “The United States is not interested in being prisoners of the past,” while Raúl Castro thanked Obama for taking steps toward normalization and called him “an honest man.” The opening was a win-win for both countries: an influx of U.S. tourists, a flourishing of private businesses, and new openings for civil society. Then came Donald Trump, who sent relations spiraling downward once again.

Fast forward to today, with the indictment of Raúl Castro for allegedly ordering the 1996 shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue planes that left four men dead. I was in Cuba at the time leading a group of U.S. CEOs interested in investing on the island. The next day, we were supposed to meet........

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