Cuba’s old guard gets even older

Raúl Castro, younger brother of Fidel, has been synonymous with the Cuban regime that has frustrated and confounded American presidents for decades. Though he stepped back from official duties in 2021, he continues to serve as a symbolic leader and as the general of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. But Castro is ringing in his birthday with an unwelcome present from the US. Late last month, the US Justice Department charged him with murder in connection with the 1996 downing of a civilian aircraft near the Caribbean island. The charges come amid the Trump administration's broader effort this year to squeeze the communist regime through a mix of sanctions and a de facto blockade on its oil shipments.