The charges by the U.S. government against Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro are a "political maneuver" with no legal basis whatsoever, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Wednesday.

Diaz-Canel said on X that the charges "only reveal the arrogance and frustration of the empire's representatives in the face of the unwavering resolve of the Cuban Revolution and the unity and moral strength of its leadership."

Raul Castro (R), leader of the Cuban socialist revolution, together with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, participate in the traditional May Day parade at the Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, May 1, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

Earlier on Wednesday, a grand jury from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida indicted Raul Castro for his alleged role in ordering the striking down of two planes operated by a Cuban exile group in the United States named "Brothers to the Rescue" in 1996.

Diaz-Canel said the indictment is intended "solely to enlarge the file they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba."

Washington "is lying and manipulating the events surrounding the downing of the small planes belonging to the narco-terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue," he said.

The president recounted what happened on Feb. 24, 1996, saying Cuba acted "in legitimate self-defense" within its territorial waters after members of the Miami-based group repeatedly violated the island country's airspace.

Cuba issued more than a dozen warnings about the violations, "but (the U.S. government) ignored the warnings and allowed the violations to continue," he said, adding that "documentary evidence" demonstrated that Cuba did not act "recklessly" or violate international law.

Castro, "as a guerrilla leader and statesman, won the love of his people, in addition to the respect and admiration of other leaders in the region and the world. These values are his best defense and a moral shield against the ridiculous attempt to diminish his stature as a hero," Diaz-Canel said.

Castro, 94, served as Cuba's minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time of the incident.