Cubans rally in Havana to protest US indictment of Castro

Thousands of Cubans rallied in Havana on Friday to condemn the U.S. indictment of Raul Castro and the decades-long U.S. embargo on Cuba, while expressing support for the country's revolutionary process, reported Xinhua.

According to the Cuban government, more than 250,000 people attended the rally at the Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Platform, an open area facing Havana's seafront. The event was led by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and coincided with the country's National Defense Day.

Gerardo Hernandez, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, said the rally reflected popular rejection of what he called "a political provocation by Washington."

He said the United States has neither legitimacy nor jurisdiction to bring charges against Castro, and argued that Washington had distorted the events surrounding the February 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Cuban-American exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Hernandez said the aircraft had repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and that Cuba acted in self-defense after issuing warnings to Washington.

Lauren Luis, an official with Cuba's Foreign Ministry, said she attended the rally to defend the Cuban Revolution and express support for Castro. She described the U.S. indictment as "unfounded and illegitimate," saying Cuba had acted to defend its sovereignty.

Aleida Ramirez, a 65-year-old hairdresser, said she joined the rally to defend Cuba's independence and socialist system. "We cannot allow (U.S. President Donald) Trump or anyone else to come and rule this country."

University of Havana student Gian Marcos Suarez said Cuba is facing one of its most difficult periods in recent years due to the tightening of the U.S. embargo, adding that the country needs reforms driven by Cubans themselves rather than foreign intervention.

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently filed an indictment against Castro, accusing him of playing an alleged role in the downing of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft in 1996.

Castro, 94, served as Cuba's minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time of the incident. Havana maintains that the aircraft were shot down in Cuban airspace and that the country acted in legitimate self-defense.