{"id":211308,"date":"2026-05-21T15:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-news-at-a-glance-us-indicts-raul-castro-ratcheting-up-cuba-tensions-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:17:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:17:49","slug":"trump-news-at-a-glance-us-indicts-raul-castro-ratcheting-up-cuba-tensions-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-news-at-a-glance-us-indicts-raul-castro-ratcheting-up-cuba-tensions-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump news at a glance: US indicts Ra\u00fal Castro, ratcheting up Cuba tensions &#8211; The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former president, 94, faces multiple US felony charges, including four counts of murder \u2013 key US politics stories from Wednesday 20 May<br \/>The United States issued a federal criminal indictment against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/raul-castro\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Ra\u00fal Castro<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/cuba\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Cuba<\/a>\u2019s former president, and five others on Wednesday in a significant escalation of the Trump administration\u2019s campaign to oust the country\u2019s six-decades-old communist regime.<br \/>The 94-year-old political figurehead was charged in Miami, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/florida\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Florida<\/a>, with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft.<br \/>Other defendants are a fighter pilot who was initially charged in connection with a 1996 incident in which four men were killed by the Cuban military when their aircraft were shot down during a humanitarian mission in the Florida Straits. Castro, Cuba\u2019s defense minister at the time, is alleged to have given the order to open fire.<br \/>Speaking to reporters after the indictment was handed down, Trump said there \u201cwon\u2019t be an escalation\u201d with Cuba.<br \/>\u201cI don\u2019t think there needs to be,\u201d he said. \u201cLook, the place is falling apart. They\u2019ve really lost control of Cuba.\u201d<br \/>But the president hinted at US military control of Cuba \u2013 among other sovereign nations and territories \u2013 during his commencement speech at the US Coast Guard Academy.<br \/>\u201cFrom the Gulf of America to the frozen waters of the Arctic, from the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment, just like we\u2019ve been doing,\u201d Trump said.<br \/>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1441506\/dl?inline\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">indictment<\/a>, in US district court for the southern district of Florida, comes at a time of heightened tension between the US and Cuba. Donald Trump has threatened military action against the Cuban government, and an energy crisis created by a tight US oil embargo has caused rolling blackouts and prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/14\/cuba-us-energy-blockade-oil-fuel-petrol-runs-out\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">protests<\/a> in the capital.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/19\/trump-backlash-social-media-king\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><br \/>Thousands of Mississippians, along with allies from other southern states, gathered at the state\u2019s War Memorial Building auditorium on Wednesday in support of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/us-voting-rights\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">voting rights<\/a>. It was the latest in a series of actions protesting the supreme court\u2019s recent decision gutting the provision of the Voting Rights Act preventing racial discrimination, and held on a site integral to the state\u2019s history of Black disenfranchisement.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/mississippi-voting-rights-rally\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><br \/>The US special envoy to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/greenland\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Greenland<\/a> has said it\u2019s time for Washington \u201cto put its footprint back\u201d on the Arctic island, as he wound up his first visit to the island since his appointment in December.<br \/>Donald Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/mar\/19\/denmark-prepared-for-us-attack-donald-trump-greenland\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">repeatedly argued that the US needs to control Greenland<\/a> \u2013 a Danish autonomous territory \u2013 because of national security concerns, claiming that if it does not, the island risks falling into the hands of China or Russia.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/21\/greenland-trump-us-envoy-jeff-landry-visit\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><br \/>Federal agents have raided the homes of three southern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">California<\/a> immigration activists in what the activists allege is the latest escalation in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trump administration<\/a> campaign to harass a volunteer-led advocacy group that organizes neighborhood ICE-watch patrols.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/ice-watch-group-vc-defensa-raids\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><br \/>On Tuesday the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Open Society Foundations<\/a>, the organisation founded by the billionaire philanthropist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/george-soros\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">George Soros<\/a> and headquartered in New York, announced a $300m spend aimed at boosting economic security and defending civil liberties in the US.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/may\/20\/george-soros-pledge-economic-security-civil-liberties\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><br \/>US employers <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/how-much-companies-spend-fight-unions\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">spend more than $1.5bn a year on labor union opposition efforts<\/a><\/strong>, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epi.org\/321180\/pre\/b2f05dae28c7630f919860d19ce1fa346f5b3d4d5c390ef9a6a57aef8ddb030e\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">report<\/a> published on Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2026\/may\/20\/british-diplomat-james-roscoe-abruptly-leaves-washington-embassy-post\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Britain\u2019s second most senior diplomat in Washington<\/a><\/strong>, who stood in as interim ambassador after the sacking of Peter Mandelson, has abruptly left his post.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/tennessee\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tennessee<\/a> officials will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/settlement-man-jailed-charlie-kirk-post\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">jailed for more than a month over a Facebook post he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a><\/strong>.<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/20\/ebola-outbreak-us-doctor-germany\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">An American doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown to Germany for treatment<\/a><\/strong>, along with his wife and four children, as the World Health Organization warned of the \u201cscale and speed\u201d of the outbreak.<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2026\/may\/20\/james-murdoch-vox-media-deal\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">James Murdoch, second son of publishing giant Rupert Murdoch, has agreed to acquire some of Vox Media\u2019s assets<\/a><\/strong>, including New York Magazine, in a deal believed to be worth about $300m.<br \/>Barney Frank, the former US representative who <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/barney-frank-dead\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">made history as one of the first out gay members of Congress, died on Tuesday night<\/a><\/strong>. He was 86.<br \/>Catching up?<em> Here\u2019s what happened <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/trump-news-at-a-glance-president-forces-out-another-republican-who-crossed-him\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tuesday 19 May<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMilgFBVV95cUxNbnViRGpBOUxZTTNydVJ3VWlrS2RLekY4c0E3TmRycUhuVTBXb3Q3dERDVlFLRldsbnkyV3V3OWVhTHNmMmQ5NkpDaFQwRmhXanlOVU9WYmQ3LTRRWEQ3NlgxTlBYdlIzUElnZmJTV2ZSZF9RYWZaY2huS3J2Zkw0dXVjZGhDSl9kaC1DLVFFX2diVDBzV2c?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former president, 94, faces multiple US felony charges, including four counts of murder \u2013 key US politics stories from Wednesday 20 MayThe United States issued a federal criminal indictment against Ra\u00fal Castro, Cuba\u2019s former president, and five others on Wednesday in a significant escalation of the Trump administration\u2019s campaign to oust the country\u2019s six-decades-old communist [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-211308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}