From the New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitchewef.

This is the Daily.

On Wednesday, the U.S. charged Cuba's former leader and communist general Roel Castro with murder.

The charges stem from Castro's role in a decades-old incident

when three Americans were killed by the Cuban government,

and they were the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign

to force political change on the island.

Today, my colleagues Francis Robles on the story behind the charges against Castro and Julian Barnes on what the American government really wants from Cuba.

It's Thursday, May 21st.

Frenchie, welcome back to the show.

Thanks for having me, Natalie.

You just got out of this Department of Justice press conference in Miami.

You are, in fact, still in your car, and we appreciate you making the time.

So tell us what it was like.

It was so interesting.

I've been covering judicial events and press conferences and court cases and announcements for many, many years. And I can't say I've ever seen one quite like this. Usually these are held at, you know, either at a courthouse or an office, maybe the district attorney's office or the DOJ. So they held it at the Freedom Tower.

So that's the first thing that was really fascinating.

It's a really important historic building in Miami.

It's kind of a cool, old-looking tower.

And the reason it's an important location is because in the 1960s and the early 70s, it was the Cuban refugee center. So it's basically Ellis Islands

for Cuban exiles. It was the first stop for many, many thousands of people who left Cuba

after the revolution and came to live in Miami. So a lot of symbolism there for people.

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