China says US should stop 'threats' against Cuba after ex-leader charged

China has called on the US to stop using "coercion" and "threats" against its ally Cuba, after Washington indicted former leader Raúl Castro on murder charges.

An American court has accused the 94-year-old former president of conspiracy to kill US nationals over the 1996 downing of two planes, an incident which killed four people and fuelled diplomatic tensions between Washington and the Caribbean island.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to exert pressure on Cuba and has openly discussed toppling its communist regime.

On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the US should "stop threatening force at every turn", and that Beijing "firmly supports Cuba".

On Wednesday, Castro was charged alongside five others of involvement in the shooting down of two planes travelling between Cuba and Florida three decades ago, and was indicted with offences which carry penalties of life in prison or death.

The aircraft, which were operated by the Cuban-American dissident group Brothers to the Rescue, were carrying three US citizens when they were downed, all of whom were killed.

At the time, Castro - who stepped down as president in 2018 - was head of the country's armed forces.

The incident caused outcry among Cuban exiles living in the US and has long been a source of contention between Washington and Havana.

Cuba's president Miguel Díaz-Canel has described the charges as "a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation".

The foreign minister of China, a long-standing supporter of Cuba, said Beijing opposed "any attempt by external forces to exert pressure on Cuba under any pretext".

Guo continued: "The United States should cease using sanctions and judicial apparatus as tools of coercion against Cuba and refrain from making threats of force at every turn.

"China resolutely supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity and opposes external interference."

It comes as the White House continues to ratchet up pressure on Cuba.

The US has imposed new sanctions on the country and imposed a blockade on oil to Cuba, a move which has resulted in blackouts and food shortages.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order sanctioning officials in Cuba's energy, defence, financial and security sectors, as well as individuals the US alleges have carried out human rights abuses or stolen public assets.

Since capturing former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January to face trial in the US over charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, Trump has openly mused that Cuba is "ready to fall".