Castro denounces US 'confrontation' as Cuba marks revolution

Former Cuban President Raul Castro has accused the US of returning to its policy of confrontation.

Mr Castro, who is still head of Cuba's ruling Communist Party, was speaking on the 60th anniversary of the revolution led by his brother, Fidel.

He urged Cubans to prepare for all scenarios to defend their independence and said the revolution "had not aged".

The Castro brothers, first Fidel and then Raul, ruled the country between 1959 and 2018.

Raul Castro handed over the Cuban presidency to Miguel Diaz-Canel earlier this year.

• Miguel Díaz-Canel: The man succeeding the Castros
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Relations between Cuba and the US thawed under the Obama administration but President Donald Trump has taken a harder line.

In 2017, Mr Trump reimposed certain travel and trade restrictions eased by the previous US government.

"Once again, the US government seems to be on the road to confronting Cuba and presenting our peaceful and inclusive country as a threat to the region," Mr Castro, dressed in his military uniform, said in a ceremony held near Fidel's tomb.

"Once again, they want to make Cuba guilty of all the evils of the region."

Mr Castro accused "the far right" in Florida - where many Cuban exiles live - of having "confiscated US policy towards Cuba".

"I reiterate our willingness to coexist in a civilised way despite our differences, in a relationship of peace, respect and mutual benefit with the United States."

Source