Castro indictment fuels speculation Trump may be reviving Maduro playbook against Cuba

By Fox News · Fox News

The Trump administration’s decision to indict former Cuban leader Raúl Castro is fueling comparisons to the pressure campaign President Donald Trump previously used against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro , as the White House ramps up economic pressure, direct appeals to Cubans and military visibility in the Caribbean. The indictment — tied to Cuba’s 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed three U.S. citizens — has raised questions about whether the administration is testing a Venezuela-style pressure strategy against Havana’s communist regime. The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group has been operating in the Caribbean under U.S. Southern Command authorities, providing a visible military backdrop to the administration’s increasingly confrontational posture toward Havana. Publicly announced assets include fighter aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft and guided-missile destroyers. The broader posture has drawn comparisons to the administration’s earlier campaign against Maduro, which similarly began with criminal charges against a longtime anti-American strongman before expanding into a wider regime-pressure effort involving sanctions, diplomatic isolation and heightened U.S. military activity in the Caribbean. OBAMA’S BASEBALL OUTING WITH CASTRO REIGNITES FURY AFTER TRUMP DOJ DROPS HAMMER ON CUBAN LEADER Federal prosecutors charged Castro and several former Cuban officials Wednesday in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft that killed four men, including three U.S. citizens. Castro was Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the attack. U.S. prosecutors allege Castro helped authorize the operation after the civilian planes repeatedly entered Cuban airspace while conducting missions linked to the Miami -based Brothers to the Rescue organization, which searched for Cuban migrants at sea and opposed the communist government in Havana. Cuban fighter jets ultimately shot down two unarmed aircraft over international…