Raúl Castro is formally retired but retains informal authority over FAR (the armed forces) and GAESA (the military's commercial empire controlling roughly 60% of Cuba's hard-currency economy). The US sought a back-channel to his family network in April 2026.Source: event

What is GAESA and who controls it?

GAESA is the Cuban armed forces' business holding company, controlling around 60% of Cuba's hard-currency economy including hotels, ports, and foreign trade. It was built under Raúl Castro's military command and continues to operate under FAR oversight.

What power does Raúl Castro still have in Cuba?

Although formally retired from the presidency (2008-2018) and from Communist Party First Secretary (until 2021), Raúl Castro retains informal command authority over FAR (the armed forces) and influence over GAESA, the military holding company that controls roughly 60 per cent of Cuba's hard-currency economy. Washington views him as the informal veto power on any substantive Cuba deal.Source: entity background

Background

Raúl Castro Ruz, Born 3 June 1931, served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba until 2021 and as President from 2008 to 2018. Although formally retired, he retains commanding influence through the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR) lineage and through GAESA, the armed forces' business empire controlling roughly 60 per cent of Cuba's hard-currency economy. He is the younger brother of Fidel Castro (died 2016) and is generally credited with driving the 2014-2016 diplomatic opening with the Obama administration.

On 20 May 2026 the US Department of Justice unsealed a superseding indictment charging Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals and four counts of murder in connection with the 24 February 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft over international waters. The indictment is an allegation; no verdict has been returned. MINREX called it 'political coercion'; the US Deputy Secretary of State responded to Cuba's formal protest on 24 May. On 3 June his 95th birthday drew official solidarity messages from Russia and China. His grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro met a senior State Department official in a back-channel on 10 April 2026; his son Alejandro Castro Espín was designated under EO 14404 on 4 June 2026 alongside President Díaz-Canel.

More questions

Why did Raúl Castro appear at the 1 May 2026 parade?

Raúl Castro co-presided with Díaz-Canel over the 1 May Labour Day parade at the Antiimperialist José Martí Tribune, the venue fronting the US Embassy, under the slogan 'La Patria se Defiende.' His appearance was timed to the same morning Trump signed a new Cuba sanctions order and was read as deliberate political signalling directed at the US diplomatic mission.Source: event 3083

What is GAESA and why does it matter for Cuba?

GAESA is the Cuban armed forces' business empire, built under Raúl Castro's military leadership. It controls roughly 60 per cent of Cuba's hard-currency economy through holdings in tourism, retail, remittances, and import infrastructure. Because most foreign commercial activity in Cuba flows through GAESA-controlled entities, it is directly targeted by US sanctions and OFAC licence revocation demands.Source: entity background

Who is Raúl Castro's grandson and why did the US meet him?

Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, 41, is Raúl Castro's grandson and holds no government position. In April 2026 a senior State Department official held a separate meeting with him in Havana alongside formal talks with Cuban foreign ministry officials, reflecting Washington's assessment that the elder Castro's network, not the civilian government, is the ultimate decision-maker on any Cuba deal.Source: event 2843

Did Raúl Castro negotiate the 2014 Obama-Cuba normalisation?

Raúl Castro is generally credited with driving the 2014-2016 diplomatic opening with the Obama administration that restored US-Cuba diplomatic relations after more than five decades. He selected Miguel Díaz-Canel as his presidential successor and stepped down as Party First Secretary in 2021, though he retains informal authority over the military-commercial structures he built.Source: entity background

What is Raúl Castro charged with in the 2026 US indictment?

The 20 May 2026 indictment alleges conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder in connection with the 24 February 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian planes over international waters. It is an allegation; no verdict has been returned.Source: US Department of Justice / Cuba Dispatch Update 5

Does Raúl Castro still hold power in Cuba?

Castro formally retired as Communist Party First Secretary in 2021 and as President in 2018, but he retains informal authority over the FAR military and GAESA, the conglomerate controlling roughly 60 per cent of Cuba's hard-currency economy.Source: Cuba Dispatch

What happened to the Brothers to the Rescue planes shot down in 1996?

On 24 February 1996 Cuban MiGs shot down two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft over international waters, killing Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. The US indictment alleges Raúl Castro ordered the shoot-down.Source: US Department of Justice

How did Cuba respond to the Raúl Castro indictment?

MINREX condemned it as 'political coercion', stating that defending national airspace is not a crime. On 24 May 2026 the US Deputy Secretary of State held a direct government-to-government exchange with Cuba's embassy to answer the formal protest.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 5

What is Raúl Castro charged with in the United States?

A US grand jury indictment unsealed 20 May 2026 charges Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder over the 24 February 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft, killing four people.Source: US Department of Justice

Why did Russia and China congratulate Raúl Castro on his birthday in 2026?

Russia and China sent official solidarity messages on 3 June 2026, Castro's 95th birthday, two weeks after the US DOJ murder indictment was unsealed. The messages are seen as a reaffirmation of patron alignment in response to US legal pressure.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 6

Does Raúl Castro still run Cuba even though he retired?

Formally retired since 2021, Castro retains informal command authority through FAR and GAESA, the armed-forces business empire controlling roughly 60 per cent of Cuba's hard-currency economy. Analysts treat him as the de facto veto power on major policy decisions.

What is GAESA and how is it connected to Raúl Castro?

GAESA (Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.) is the Cuban armed forces' commercial holding company, controlling roughly 60% of the hard-currency economy. Raúl Castro built it and continues to exercise informal influence over it.

What were the Brothers to the Rescue shoot-down victims' names?

The four victims of the 24 February 1996 shoot-down were Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. They were flying civilian aircraft over international waters.Source: US Department of Justice

Why has the United States indicted Raúl Castro?

On 20 May 2026 a US federal grand jury indictment unsealed in Miami charged Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder relating to the 24 February 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft over international waters. The indictment is an allegation; no verdict has been returned.Source: cuba-dispatch U5

Does Raúl Castro still have power in Cuba?

Though formally retired from both the Communist Party leadership and the presidency, Raúl Castro retains commanding influence via the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) lineage he built over six decades and through GAESA, the armed forces' business empire controlling roughly 60% of Cuba's hard-currency economy.Source: background

What was Cuba's reaction to the Raúl Castro indictment?

Cuba's foreign ministry MINREX characterised the indictment as 'political coercion' and filed a formal protest. The US Deputy Secretary of State responded directly on 24 May 2026. Russia and China sent official solidarity messages on Castro's 95th birthday on 3 June 2026.Source: cuba-dispatch U5 and U6

Source Material

US Department of Justice indictment announcement Raúl Castro Ruz Charged with 1996 Murder of Four American Citizens Raúl Castro

How the World Sees Them

Cuba

Castro's legacy structures — FAR, GAESA, and the Communist Party's military wing — remain the operating backbone of the state; Havana treats the indictment as a political provocation, not a legal process.

China

Beijing sent a formal birthday solidarity message on 3 June 2026, publicly aligning with Castro at a moment of maximum US legal pressure.

Russia

Moscow sent a formal birthday solidarity message on 3 June 2026, reaffirming its patron relationship with Castro despite the US indictment.

United States

Washington treats Raúl Castro as the informal veto power on any Cuba deal; the indictment and extradition statements signal maximum-pressure framing over engagement.