A decades-old confrontation between Washington and Havana took a dramatic new turn after former Cuban president Raúl Castro was charged in the United States with murder, sharply intensifying pressure on the island’s communist leadership. The indictment was filed on 23 April in federal court in Miami, Florida. According to the court documents, the 94-year-old faces one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Five other individuals are also listed as defendants…

Cuban authorities said Monday that four people were killed and six wounded aboard a Florida-registered speedboat after it entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a Cuban patrol vessel, an incident likely to sharpen already-fraught U.S.-Cuba tensions. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the wounded from the speedboat were evacuated for medical care, and the commander of the Cuban patrol was also injured. The ministry said the clash remained under investigation to determine precisely what happened. None of the dead or wounded on the…