Overview
- Ratcliffe’s delegation, which held talks Thursday in Havana with Raul Guillermo “Raulito” Rodríguez Castro and Cuba’s top security chiefs, delivered President Trump’s terms for any engagement.
- The CIA said the meetings covered intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security, and stressed that Cuba can no longer be a base for U.S. adversaries in the region.
- Cuba said it presented evidence that it poses no U.S. security threat and argued there is no basis for its place on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list.
- The visit came as Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the island has no fuel or diesel, with blackouts up to 20–22 hours and hospital services disrupted, and as Washington reiterated a $100 million humanitarian and satellite internet offer that requires Cuba’s consent.
- The trip is one of the first U.S. government landings in Cuba outside Guantánamo since 2016, reflecting tentative diplomacy under tighter sanctions with negotiations ongoing and unresolved.