MOSCOW (Realist English). The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the latest US steps against Cuba, describing them as an attempt to forcibly change the government in Havana.
The statement was prompted by charges filed by the US Department of Justice on May 19 against former Cuban head of state and revolutionary leader Raul Castro in connection with an incident on February 24, 1996. On that day, Cuban Air Force jets shot down two light aircraft that had violated the country’s airspace, killing four people, three of whom were US citizens.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that 30 years after those events, Washington is trying to use them to lend a semblance of legitimacy to unprecedented pressure on Cuba’s leadership aimed at regime change and establishing control over the island.
“To reinforce this pressure, a US Navy strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has arrived in the Caribbean basin,” the statement, released on May 21, said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that “everything is being done to demonstrate the possibility of armed intervention against Cuba,” drawing parallels with the events in Venezuela in January (referring to the attempted destabilization and the arrival of US warships).
Russia resolutely condemns new attempts “to bring the Cuban people to their knees” — a people that for nearly 70 years has defended its sovereignty in the face of an aggressive external threat, political blackmail and a blockade — trade, economic, financial and, most recently, energy.
“We are confident that Cubans will endure in their selfless and courageous struggle against these challenges, which have neither moral nor legal justification, and that the country will rally even more tightly around its historic leader, R. Castro,” the ministry said.
It added that attempts to fabricate charges against a statesman and political figure who enjoys high authority both in Cuba and far beyond its borders are doomed to fail.
Russia once again called for resolving differences between Havana and Washington through negotiations based on mutual respect, stating its rejection of unilateral restrictive measures aimed at the economic “strangulation” of the Island of Freedom.
“We reaffirm our firm solidarity with the people and government of fraternal Cuba, with whom we will continue to strengthen the close bonds of friendship, mutual support, assistance and all-round cooperation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.
Washington is using a combination of military force projection, legal prosecution and decades of economic pressure to force Havana into submission.
A strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, accompanied by the destroyer USS Gridley and a replenishment ship, has entered the Caribbean Sea. Officially, it is participating in the “Southern Seas 2026” exercises. Russia has called this “muscle-flexing” that worsens the humanitarian situation for Cubans.
Politico, citing sources, reported that the Donald Trump administration is leaning toward a military option in Cuba after sanctions failed. Trump, however, publicly states he does not plan escalation.
Russia sees the US actions as a “cynical resuscitation of the Monroe Doctrine” and a drive for the economic “strangulation” of Cuba. The Russian Foreign Ministry declares full solidarity and readiness to provide active support (including political, diplomatic and material assistance).
The Kremlin describes the decades-long blockade as “catastrophic” and compares pressure on Cuba to the “kidnapping” of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
