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CIA Director Ratcliffe Meets Cuban Intelligence and Interior Minister in Havana
John Ratcliffe delivered a message from President Donald Trump during talks on intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security. The visit came one day after Cuba declared it had run out of diesel and fuel oil, triggering protests in Havana. Both sides restated longstanding positions on terrorism designations and threats to U.S. security.
May 15, 9:49 AM·2m read3 sources
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba on Thursday and met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services. The meetings discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues. A CIA official confirmed the meetings to the AP.
Ratcliffe was there 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, the CIA official said. U.S. stressed that Cuba cannot continue to be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. security. U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. An official statement from Cuba’s government noted that Thursday’s meeting took place against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations.
The Cuban government statement said exchanges with the US made it possible to demonstrate categorically that Cuba does not constitute a threat to US national security, nor are there any legitimate reasons to include it on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
The visit occurred one day after Cuba’s energy minister Vicente de la O Levy said on Wednesday that the country had completely run out of diesel and fuel oil. Vicente de la O Levy said the national grid was in a critical state and that Cuba has no reserves.
Protests erupted across Havana on Wednesday following the energy minister’s announcement, with residents shouting “turn on the lights,” banging pots and pans and setting fire to piles of rubbish. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed an offer of $100m in aid on the condition that the assistance be distributed by the Catholic church, bypassing the government.
U.S. will provide Cuba with $100 million in humanitarian assistance and support for satellite internet if the Cuban regime will permit it. In a post on X, Cuba’s president Miguel Diaz-Canel urged the US to lift its blockade.
