China Condemns US Arrest Warrant for Raul Castro

By Staff, Agencies

China has opposed a US judge’s order to arrest former Cuban President Raul Castro, criticizing Washington for using the judicial system to exert pressure on Havana.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described Castro as a highly respected figure of the Cuban Revolution with considerable standing internationally, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

Mao said Beijing had consistently opposed the use of legal mechanisms as instruments of pressure against Cuba and reaffirmed China’s support for the island nation as it defends its sovereignty and resists external interference.

She also called on Washington to lift its blockade of Cuba, abandon other forms of coercion and stop violating the Cuban people’s right to survival and development.

The arrest warrant, issued Monday, concerns the 1996 shooting down of two aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a Cuban exile organization founded in May 1991 by José Basulto.

Four people were killed in the incident, including three US citizens and one person residing in the United States.

In a March 1996 interview with Time magazine, then Cuban President Fidel Castro acknowledged responsibility for the broader policy governing responses to unauthorized aircraft entering Cuban airspace.

He said he and military leaders had agreed that such incursions could not be allowed to continue and had instructed the air force to scramble jets if further violations occurred.

Castro maintained that the aircraft had ignored warnings and argued that the United States would not tolerate comparable violations of its own airspace.

He characterized the action as a defensive response to repeated provocations and an effort to protect Cuba’s sovereignty.

China’s latest statement adds to Beijing’s criticism of US pressure on Havana, with Mao reiterating that Washington should end its coercive measures and respect Cuba’s sovereignty.