Cuban President Raúl Castro has accused the United States government of trying to undermine his country’s communist regime.

He said a US man who had been arrested in Cuba at the beginning of December had illegally provided opposition members with sophisticated communications equipment.

Mr Castro went on to say that the US government has been busy in the past few months with a diplomatic campaign intended to convince the international community that repression is increasing in Cuba.

His uncompromising language has dashed hopes for warmer ties between the Cuba and the US. When Barack Obama became US president a year ago, it looked as though a thaw in the long-standing tense relations between the two countries was on the way.

Photo of President Raúl Castro by EPA