Raul Castro, the former President of Cuba and brother of the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, is potentially facing indictment in the United States related to the 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue. Born in 1931, Castro was a pivotal figure in the 1959 Cuban revolution that overthrew U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. He served as defense minister for decades, where he built a strong military base and played a key role in defeating the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Castro officially became president in 2008 after acting in the role since 2006, and he continued to be a dominant figure in Cuban politics even after Fidel's death in 2016. Despite stepping down in 2018, he retained significant influence within the Communist Party and the military. Recently, he proposed a postponement of the Communist Party congress scheduled for December 2025, which aims to select a successor for the current president, Miguel Diaz-Canel. Castro's last public appearance was on May 1, 2023, during International Workers' Day, where he appeared fatigued.