HAVANA — Cuba's Foreign Ministry announced Friday that it is expelling the top American diplomat in Havana and recalling its own representative from Washington, describing the United States' indictment of former President Raúl Castro as a 'grotesque act of political aggression' and a flagrant violation of international law. The move comes less than 48 hours after US federal prosecutors unsealed charges accusing the 94-year-old Castro of ordering the murders of American citizens and Cuban dissidents during his decades in power.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla summoned the US chargé d'affaires to the ministry's protocol offices on Friday morning and handed over a formal diplomatic note declaring him persona non grata, demanding his departure within 72 hours. State media broadcast the announcement live, with Rodríguez Parrilla calling the indictment 'a tool of Yankee imperialism designed to distract from Washington's own crimes and further strangle the Cuban people.'

The US State Department confirmed receipt of the expulsion notice and said it was reviewing its options, including the potential suspension of the limited consular services that had resumed under prior diplomatic arrangements. A senior State Department spokesperson defended the indictment, saying it 'reflects the United States' unwavering commitment to accountability for those who ordered the killing of American nationals, regardless of their title or age.'

The charges against Raúl Castro, which US officials say were built over years of testimony from Cuban exile communities in Miami and classified intelligence, allege his direct role in ordering executions of political opponents and the 1996 shoot-down of civilian aircraft operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, in which four Americans died. Cuban-American lawmakers in Congress praised the indictment as long-overdue justice, while Latin American governments including Mexico and Venezuela condemned it as destabilising and legally dubious.

Analysts warn the diplomatic rupture could effectively freeze the already-limited engagement between Washington and Havana that had persisted through multiple administrations. 'This is a near-complete collapse of whatever remained of the diplomatic channel,' said Dr. Arturo López-Levy, a Cuba specialist at Holy Names University. 'The practical consequences for Cubans seeking visas or consular help will be severe, on top of an already humanitarian crisis on the island.' The White House has not yet indicated whether it intends to seek Castro's extradition through third-party nations.