CIA Director Meets With Senior Cuban Regime Officials in Havana

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba on Thursday for meetings with senior Cuban officials, including the grandson of former communist leader Raúl Castro, as the Trump administration pursues renewed pressure and negotiations with the island’s government.

According to US and Cuban officials, Ratcliffe met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas, and Cuban intelligence leaders during the visit. Discussions reportedly focused on intelligence cooperation, economic conditions, and regional security issues.

A CIA official said Ratcliffe traveled to 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.”

The Cuban government acknowledged the meeting and said it occurred during a period of “complex bilateral relations” between the two countries.

US officials emphasized during the talks that Cuba cannot continue serving as what they described as a “safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.” Cuban representatives pushed back on that characterization and again objected to Cuba remaining on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Rodríguez Castro, despite never formally holding government office, has long been tied to the Cuban regime. He previously served as Raúl Castro’s bodyguard and later oversaw Cuba’s equivalent of the Secret Service. Earlier this year, he reportedly held a private meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Caribbean summit in St. Kitts.