Raúl Castro, a key figure in the Cuban revolution who still wields formidable political influence, did not appear at the Revolution Day ceremony for the first time in about 30 years, drawing attention to the reasons behind it.
According to the AP on the 26th (local time), President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the Revolution Day ceremony in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in place of Raúl Castro and read his congratulatory message. The reason for Raúl's absence was not disclosed, and this is the first time in at least about 30 years that he has not attended this event.
Revolution Day marks July 26, 1953, when brothers Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro targeted the regime of then-dictator Fulgencio Batista by attacking the Moncada Barracks in eastern Cuba and the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks. Although the operation failed at the time, after the two brothers succeeded in the revolution on Jan. 1, 1959, the incident became established as the symbolic starting point of the Cuban revolution.
It is highly unusual for Raúl Castro, a leading figure in the revolution, to skip the Revolution Day ceremony. His last public appearances were at the Ministry of the Interior's founding commemoration in June and the Labor Day ceremony on May 1. He currently holds no official post, but he is known to remain a symbolic presence within Cuba's power elite and to retain real influence.
Given that he is 95 years old and tensions with the United States have recently intensified, observers say these factors are likely not unrelated to his absence. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Raúl Castro on charges of murder and conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens. The United States believes he was involved in the downing of two civilian aircraft belonging to a Cuban exile group in airspace near the Cuban coast in February 1996.
The Donald Trump administration's pressure on Cuba is also escalating. In a report released on the 20th, the U.S. Department of State claimed that the Cuban government played a leading role in forming "the most famous and influential extremist movement in the United States," and that it has operated espionage and subversion networks on U.S. soil.
As all-around U.S. sanctions continue, Cuba's economy is being pushed to the brink. Spanish hotel chain Meliá, as well as payment firms Visa and Mastercard, and airlines including Air Canada and Air France, have successively withdrawn from the Cuban market. With even the tourism industry that has supported Cuba's economy suffering severe damage, the economic crisis is worsening further.
The Cuban government continues to make hard-line remarks toward the United States. According to Reuters, President Díaz-Canel said at the event that "the United States is seeking new pretexts to continue political genocide against Cuba."
Reuters assessed that "with the Trump administration's oil embargo and expanded sanctions plunging Cuba into its worst economic crisis in decades, the ongoing rolling blackouts and fuel shortages nationwide, and the heightened tensions between the two countries, this speech showed those trends."