President Trump reacts to Raul Castro indictment, says Cuba 'falling apart', vows US support
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, May 20 seized on the dramatic indictment of former Cuban leader Raul Castro, calling it a “very important moment” for Cuban-Americans and declaring that the communist island nation is now “falling apart.”
The comments came after the US government charged Castro over the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft that killed four people.
"What's coming next for Cuba?"@POTUS: "We're going to see. It's a failing nation, you see that—it's falling apart... but we're there to help. We're there to help the families, the people." https://t.co/1ybtHqcmsI pic.twitter.com/9BFA3JVfP1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 20, 2026
Trump links indictment to Cuban-American support
Speaking to reporters, Trump framed the indictment as a long-awaited moment of justice for Cuban exiles and families affected by Havana’s communist regime.
“I think the Cuban population of Miami and certainly beyond Miami, people that came there that were decimated, whose families were ruined, appreciate what the Attorney General just did today,” Trump said.
The president repeatedly highlighted his political support among Cuban-Americans, saying the community had backed him “to the nth degree” and at “levels that nobody’s ever seen before.”
Trump also suggested the move carried emotional weight for Cuban families separated from relatives still living on the island.
“People want to go back to Cuba, people want to see their family in Cuba,” he said. “I think it was a very big day.”
.@POTUS on the indictment of Raul Castro: "The Cuban population of Miami, and certainly beyond Miami... appreciate what the Attorney General just did today... We have Cuba on our mind—very important." pic.twitter.com/pJ74rkrL5a
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 20, 2026
Trump ramps up pressure on Havana
Trump also painted a bleak picture of conditions inside Cuba, saying the island’s economic collapse is becoming impossible to ignore.
“It’s a failing nation. You see that it’s falling apart,” Trump said. “They have no oil. They have no money.”
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Trump insisted the US would continue humanitarian support for Cuban civilians and families struggling through the crisis.
“We’re there to help the families, the people,” he said. “On a humanitarian basis, we’re there to help.”
The indictment targets Raul Castro over the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes operated by anti-Castro Cuban exiles.
Cuban military aircraft destroyed the planes over international waters, killing all four people on board.
US prosecutors have charged Raul Castro with conspiracy to kill American nationals and destruction of aircraft, carrying a potential life sentence.
The case revives a major flashpoint in US–Cuba tensions.
Castro had overseen a historic diplomatic thaw with Barack Obama in 2015, but relations deteriorated after Donald Trump restored a harder stance, signaling renewed confrontation.
