Raul Castro appears on Cuban television

HAVANA - Former Cuban president Raul Castro, 95, has appeared on television after weeks of being absent from public view.Castro, Cuba’s president from 2006-2018, last appeared in public on Aug 13, when Cuba marked the centenary of the birth of his older brother Fidel.He appeared in a lengthy report broadcast several times over the weekend on state television marking the 65th anniversary of a unit responsible for the personal security of Cuban leaders, including that of Fidel Castro, who was in power from 1959–2006.In the broadcast, Raul Castro is dressed in his traditional olive-green uniform and appears alert as he congratulates veterans of the unit.He is accompanied by his grandson, who is also the head of his personal security: Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro.Although the elder Castro no longer holds an official position in the government or ruling Cuban Communist Party, he plays an important role in political decision-making and enjoys the loyalty of the armed forces.In June, the Cuban presidency announced that he had given the green light to market-oriented economic reforms to address the unprecedented crisis rocking the island of 9.4 million people, which is under intense pressure from the United States.Those measures represent the most significant shift in Cuba’s economic model since the country adopted communism nearly 70 years ago.Raul Castro was indicted in May by a US court for the deaths of four Americans when two small planes belonging to an anti-Castro group were shot down in 1996.He was serving as defence minister at the time. AFP