Raúl Castro appears on Cuban television

Former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, has reappeared on Cuban state television less than a month after being seen in public in Havana at events marking the centenary of his late brother Fidel Castro’s birth.

State television broadcast an extended report several times over the weekend showing Raúl Castro attending the 65th anniversary of an Interior Ministry unit responsible for the personal security of Cuba’s leaders, particularly Fidel Castro from 1959 to 2006. Accompanied by his grandson and personal security chief, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, he congratulated several veterans of the unit.

The images showed Raúl Castro in what appeared to be good health and wearing his traditional olive-green uniform. He has held no official position in the government or the Communist Party since leaving the presidency, but he continues to play an important role in political decisions and retains the loyalty of the armed forces.

Cuba’s presidency said in June that Raúl Castro had approved a package of economic reforms intended to confront the country’s crisis under pressure from the United States. The measures represent the biggest change to Cuba’s economic model since the country adopted communism nearly 70 years ago.

In May, US justice authorities accused Raúl Castro over the deaths of four US citizens after two small planes operated by an anti-Castro group were shot down in 1996. He was defense minister at the time.