“Today is June 3, the birthday of our General Raúl Castro. We want people to know what Raul means, who is the historical leader of the revolution, along with Fidel and many other colleagues, but who above all represents the dignity, the resistance and the struggle of the Cuban people in these more than 67 years of the Revolution,” one protester said.

“The Cuban people are living a genocide, not with bombs like Gaza, but with an economic blockade and an oil that what they want is to suffocate the Cuban people and surrender them for love.”

The demonstration took place as Raúl Castro reached the age of 95. His whereabouts remain unknown following charges announced by US authorities two weeks earlier, accusing him of murder in connection with the 1996 downing of civilian aircraft operated by a Cuban exile group.

Castro was a central figure in the 1959 Cuban Revolution alongside his brother, Fidel Castro, and later served as Cuba’s defence minister and president.

The Trump administration has accused Castro of ordering Cuban military aircraft to shoot down planes operated by Cuban exiles in 1996, increasing pressure on the Cuban government.

The United States has also expanded sanctions on Cuba, including measures targeting fuel supplies and threatening sanctions on foreign businesses operating on the island. Washington says the measures are intended to increase pressure on Cuba’s communist government, which was led for decades by the Castro brothers.