HAVANA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Wednesday condemned the U.S. indictment of former Cuban leader Raul Castro, saying the move was intended to reinforce a "fraudulent narrative" to justify intensified aggression against the Cuban people.
Rodriguez said on X that the U.S. accusation against Raul Castro was "illegitimate and illegal," and the act was based on lies and ignored documented historical facts about the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by "Brothers to the Rescue," a Cuban exile group in the United States.
Havana maintains that the aircraft were shot down in Cuban airspace and that Cuba acted in legitimate self-defense.
The foreign minister also accused Washington of being complicit in organizing and carrying out violent actions against Cuba, while denouncing what he called extrajudicial executions of nearly 200 people by U.S. forces in international waters in the Caribbean and the Pacific for alleged links to drug trafficking.
"Cuba will not renounce its inalienable right to legitimate defense," said Rodriguez, reaffirming firm support for Raul Castro and Cuba's unwavering commitment to defending the homeland, the revolution and socialism.
Earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging former Cuban leader Raul Castro and five others in connection with the Cuban military's downing of two aircraft operated by "Brothers to the Rescue" 30 years ago. ■