BEIJING, May 21,( V7N)— China said it supports Cuba and urged the United States to "stop brandishing the judicial stick" against the country, after Washington indicted former Cuban leader Raul Castro on murder charges.
The US charges against the 94-year-old former president — announced Wednesday — have fueled speculation that President Donald Trump may try to topple the communist state.
"The US side should stop brandishing the sanctions stick and the judicial stick against Cuba and stop threatening force at every turn," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing Thursday, when asked about the charges.
"China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference," Guo said.
Castro is the younger brother of Fidel Castro, the late influential US nemesis who led Cuba’s 1959 communist revolution.
The charges stem from the 1996 downing of two civilian planes flown by anti-Castro pilots, which left four people dead.
Raul Castro was also charged with conspiracy to kill Americans and destruction of aircraft.
Trump called the indictment a “very big moment” Wednesday but downplayed prospects of action against Cuba, whose economy has been in a deepening crisis for months amid a US oil blockade.
END/WD/RH
