Hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana to show strong support for former President Raúl Castro after the U.S. government charged him in connection with a civilian plane shootdown 30 years ago, amid rising tensions between the two countries.
On 23 May 2026, a large crowd of Cubans assembled in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana to express support for Raúl Castro, former Cuban president, after the U.S. government under President Donald Trump charged him in a case involving two civilian planes shot down 30 years ago.
The Cuban government stated that more than 250,000 people took part in the rally, including current President Miguel Díaz-Canel and members of Raúl Castro's family.
During the rally, a message from Raúl Castro was read aloud, in which he thanked the Cuban people for their show of support and affirmed that he would continue to lead the people and defend the Cuban revolution as long as he lives.
Cuban authorities accused the U.S. of using the plane incident as a pretext to increase political pressure and possibly justify military intervention, while the Trump administration seeks to push Cuba toward political and economic reforms.
This development followed the U.S. military's announcement on Wednesday that the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group had entered the Caribbean Sea, intensifying scrutiny of the situation between Washington and Havana in recent days.