Helen Yaffe, in her frequent, regular trips to Cuba for the last 30 years, remembers once when a Category Four hurricane barrelled its way to the island.The academic and podcaster was then living in a house with 13 other people, and when the storm hit, there was no panic – everyone already knew their role.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listSome escorted elderly and vulnerable neighbours to shelters. Others prepared to clear debris once the winds subsided.Cuba’s system of national defence against such meteorological disasters has been lauded by the United Nations and the World Health Organization for minimising casualties despite frequent extreme weather.Now, Havana is seeking to apply a similar model to a different threat: a possible United States military confrontation, as President Donald Trump’s rhetoric towards Cuba intensified on Wednesday, with US federal prosecutors indicting former Cuban President Raul Castro in the sharpest escalation between the two countries in years.The indictment dates back to a 1996 incident in which four American men died when Cuban jets allegedly shot down aircraft operated by Cuban exiles. It charges Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of aircraft destruction.Amid the tensions, on Saturday, Cuba’s Civil Defence released a multi-page guide titled The Family Guide for Protection Against Military Aggressio …
