Cairo, May 24, 2026. A dozen Egyptian media outlets published the full text of the statement issued by the Revolutionary Government of Cuba, which condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on May 20 against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution.
Similarly, the Statement denounces that the U.S. government lacks the legitimacy and jurisdiction to carry out this action. This is a despicable and infamous act of political provocation, based on the dishonest manipulation of the incident that led to the downing, in Cuban airspace in February 1996, of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue, whose repeated violation of Cuban airspace for hostile purposes was widely known.
The document issued by the Cuban government on May 20 itself reports that U.S. authorities ignored the public and official warnings issued by Cuban institutions regarding the inadmissibility of such violations of its airspace, as well as the warning messages conveyed directly to the President of the United States regarding the gravity and possible consequences of such violations. Cuba’s response to the violation of its airspace constituted an act of self-defense, protected by the United Nations Charter, the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the principles of air sovereignty and proportionality.
The document further denounces that the U.S. government’s inaction in response to the alerts issued by Cuba at the time exposed its complicity in the planning and execution from its territory of violent, illegal, and terrorist acts against the Cuban government and people—a recurring and systematic practice from the triumph of the Revolution to the present day.
It also states that this spurious accusation against the Leader of the Cuban Revolution adds to the desperate attempts by anti-Cuban elements to construct a fraudulent narrative in an effort to justify the collective and ruthless punishment of the noble Cuban people, through the reinforcement of unilateral coercive measures, including the unjust and genocidal energy blockade and threats of armed aggression.
The statement concludes by affirming that Cuba reaffirms its commitment to peace and its firm determination to exercise the inalienable right to self-defense, as recognized by the Charter of the United Nations, and that the Cuban people reaffirm their unwavering determination to defend their homeland and their Socialist Revolution and, with the utmost strength and resolve, their unconditional and steadfast support for Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Leader of the Cuban Revolution. (EmbaCuba Egipto)