US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Cuban people directly in Spanish on Wednesday, offering a "new path" hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict former leader Raúl Castro.
Rubio accused the communist leadership of theft, corruption, and oppression, and said President Trump is offering a new chapter between the US and a new Cuba, where citizens have a real opportunity to choose their government.
Tensions have spiked since US forces ousted Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and imposed an energy blockade on Cuba. The US Justice Department is expected to charge 94-year-old Raúl Castro, focusing on the 1996 downing of two civilian planes, according to CBS News.
Rubio renewed an offer of $100 million in aid, to be distributed by the Catholic Church. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel urged the US to lift its blockade instead, calling the humanitarian situation deliberately induced. Despite tensions, high-level diplomatic talks continue, with a US government plane landing in Havana in April for the first time since 2016.