Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum questioned the recent accusations made by the United States against Army General Raúl Castro, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, on Friday, arguing that these actions reflect Washington’s interventionist stance toward Latin America.
During her usual morning press conference, the president defended the principle of self-determination of peoples and questioned the intention behind reopening a case related to events that occurred three decades ago. Sheinbaum asked what the objective is of bringing up accusations now about events that took place 30 years ago.
The president stated that these types of actions are not isolated incidents and affirmed: “There has historically been an interventionist view from the United States; this is not something new.”
Claudia Sheinbaum recalled that in the case of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, there were also attempts to link him to drug trafficking from the beginning of his political career, due to his status as an indigenous leader from a coca-growing region.
Sheinbaum’s statements come after the U.S. Justice Department filed charges against Raúl Castro and five others, holding them responsible for the deaths of four people, including three U.S. citizens, in the downing of two small planes in 1996.
From Cuba, authorities rejected the accusations and maintained that Washington is manipulating historical facts by omitting complaints filed by Havana with international organizations regarding more than 25 illegal incursions into Cuban airspace between 1994 and 1996.
The Cuban government maintains that the aircraft belonging to the “Brothers to the Rescue” group repeatedly violated the island’s air sovereignty and received prior warnings about the consequences of continuing such actions. Therefore, the military response constituted an act of legitimate self-defense supported by the Charter of the United Nations and international norms on air sovereignty.
The island also maintained that the United States’ inaction in the face of these incursions represented a form of tolerance toward aggressive and destabilizing actions against the country since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.
The United States’ actions demonstrate a double standard in its foreign policy, in a context where operations carried out in international waters under accusations of drug trafficking have resulted in hundreds of deaths and the destruction of dozens of vessels, constituting extrajudicial executions and violations of international law.
IMAGE CREDIT: Sheinbaum’s statements come after US authorities filed charges against Raúl Castro and five other individuals. Photo: EFE
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
