Overview
- Cuban courier Roberto Carlos Chamizo González was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Miami International Airport, which seized a letter bound for the White House and returned him to Havana, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- The note, described by sources as a diplomatic-style letter with an official Cuban seal, was intended to reach President Trump outside normal diplomatic channels.
- U.S. officials told the Journal the letter proposed economic and investment agreements and asked for sanctions relief, and it warned that Havana was preparing for a possible U.S. incursion.
- The effort was organized by Raúl Rodríguez Castro, the grandson and aide of Raúl Castro, in a bid to bypass Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long‑time critic of Cuba’s government.
- The White House has not said whether the president saw the message, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz‑Canel has said he will not negotiate over Cuba’s political system.