The director of Trump's CIA, John Ratcliffe, met with officials from the Cuban dictatorship, including Raúl Castro's grandson, during a high-level visit to the island this Thursday, according to the intelligence agency itself and The Associated Press.
Ratcliffe met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas, and the head of the regime's intelligence services. Ratcliffe visited Havana "to personally deliver President Donald Trump's message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes", according to a U.S. official.
The ongoing meetings between officials from both countries mark the first flights that the U.S. government has made to Cuba since 2016 outside of those destined for its military base at Guantanamo Bay. This event occurs as Cuba's electrical grid has collapsed and power has been cut in most of its provinces.
Trump's CIA director, John Ratcliffe, met in Havana with regime officials.
Cuba confirms the meeting amid a climate of tension
The Cuban dictatorship confirmed the meeting, stating only that "it took place... in a context of complex bilateral relations". The Castro officials also questioned the continued inclusion of the nation on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Raúl Castro's grandson had previously met secretly with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February. "Raulito" has never held a position in the Cuban government, as he served as his grandfather's bodyguard and later as the head of the Cuban equivalent of the Secret Service.
Trump insists that Cuba cannot continue to be a "safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere" and that the U.S. blockade of fuel to the island will continue. At the end of January, the president threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to the Castro regime and even hinted that military intervention could be imminent.
Earlier this week, U.S. diplomacy reiterated that the country will provide Cuba with $100 million in humanitarian assistance and support for satellite internet "if the Cuban regime allows it".
Trump's CIA director, John Ratcliffe, met in Havana with regime officials.
