The Castro Conundrum: A Flawed Prosecution of a Fading Regime The US Department of Justice's indictment of Raúl Castro, Cuba's former president and current figurehead of the communist regime, has sparked intense debate over its implications for Washington's relations with Havana.
On its surface, the indictment appears as a straightforward exercise in accountability, charging Castro and five others with conspiracy to kill American nationals and four counts of murder related to a 1996 incident that left four men dead after their aircraft were shot down by the Cuban military.
The charges themselves are based on events that occurred nearly three decades ago, when Castro was Cuba's defense minister.