Is the Castro Indictment a Prelude to a Maduro-Style Op?

The Justice Department has announced that former Cuban dictator Raúl Castro and other officials of that Caribbean island nation’s communist regime have been indicted for murder in the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian aircraft, killing four American nationals, three of whom were U.S. citizens.

The timing is significant. President Trump has for weeks directed the blockading of oil shipments into energy-starved Cuba. The Castro charges were announced just as the president dispatched the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, along with its companion warships, into the Caribbean, within range of Cuba. The military saber-rattling — with no request for congressional authorization, as is the president’s wont — also comes in the wake of Trump CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unusual visit to Cuba last week, in which he demanded that the communist regime make fundamental changes.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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The Justice Department has announced that former Cuban dictator Raúl Castro and other officials of that Caribbean island nation’s communist regime have been indicted for murder in the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian aircraft, killing four American nationals, three of whom were U.S. citizens.

The timing is significant. President Trump has for weeks directed the blockading of oil shipments into energy-starved Cuba. The Castro charges were announced just as the president dispatched the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, along with its companion warships, into the Caribbean, within range of Cuba. The military saber-rattling — with no request for congressional authorization, as is the president’s wont — also comes in the wake of Trump CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unusual visit to Cuba last week, in which he demanded that the communist regime make fundamental changes.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.