Thousands of Cubans protest against the US indictment of Raúl Castro

Thousands of Cubans gathered this Friday (22) in front of the United States embassy in Havana to protest Washington's decision to indict former leader Raúl Castro for the downing of two civilian planes 30 years ago.

The pro-government demonstration, which began shortly after dawn on the Havana waterfront, comes as Cuban officials this week rallied behind the island's former president and revolutionary hero.

Cuba says Castro's indictment on murder charges Wednesday was based on "spurious" allegations intended to serve as a pretext to invade the nation amid a Trump administration effort to overthrow the island's government.

The charges relate to a 1996 case when two civilian aircraft belonging to the Cuban-American exile organization Brothers to the Rescue were shot down.

Raúl Castro, who was Defense Minister at the time, is accused of having ordered the attack, which killed four men, including three American citizens.

He is accused of conspiracy to kill American citizens, destruction of an aircraft and murder. There are other defendants indicted.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero attended the protest, but Castro, 94, did not.

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Source: CNN