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Cuban Fuel Blackouts, Castro Indictment, Troop Ban Vote

5/18/2026

29 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Justice Department officials say an indictment of Cuban leader Raúl Castro could be filed within days for ordering the 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes.
President Donald Trump has intensified an oil blockade that has left Cuba without fuel, causing rolling blackouts across the island.
Senate Democrats filed a War Powers Act resolution to bar a U.S. troop deployment to Cuba, which Senate Republicans rejected.

History

Historical Context

In April 1961 the CIA-backed Brigade 2506 of about 1,400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs, where President John F. Kennedy halted air support and the invasion collapsed within three days. The defeat pushed Cuba toward the Soviet Union and set a pattern of U.S. legal actions, now prompting Justice Department officials to consider indicting Raúl Castro for the 1996 Brothers-to-the-Rescue shootdown.

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Story summary

U.S. Justice Department officials say an indictment of Cuban leader Raúl Castro could be filed within days for ordering the 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes.
President Donald Trump has intensified an oil blockade that has left Cuba without fuel, causing rolling blackouts across the island.
Senate Democrats filed a War Powers Act resolution to bar a U.S. troop deployment to Cuba, which Senate Republicans rejected.

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