CIA Director John Ratcliffe Meets Cuban Officials in Havana as U.S. Offers $100m Aid

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana on Thursday to meet Cuban officials at the interior ministry as the United States renewed an offer of $100m (£74m) of aid to ease the effects of its oil blockade.

“CIA Director John Ratcliffe meets with top Cuban officials in Havana President Donald Trump has pushed for change to Cuba's political system”

ABC News

A CIA official told CBS News that the U.S. was “prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes”.

ABC News

The Cuban government said the meeting was an attempt to improve dialogue and that American officials were told Havana was not a threat to US national security.

CBS News reported that the delegation met “to personally deliver President Trump's message”, and that the discussions covered intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security issues.

The BBC said the development came as the United States government is preparing to bring charges against Raúl Castro for the downing of two small planes 30 years ago, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

The U.S. state department renewed its offer to provide generous assistance to the Cuban people and said it would have to be distributed “in coordination with the Catholic Church and other reliable independent humanitarian organisations”, bypassing the Cuban government.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said instead of offering aid, conditions could be eased faster if the US lifted its blockade, and the BBC reported that the U.S. is preparing to bring charges against Raúl Castro.

AP News

In a statement, the Cuban government said the information provided by the Cuban side and the discussions held with the U.S. delegation made it possible to “categorically demonstrate that Cuba does not constitute a threat to U.S. national security”.

ABC News reported that in response to President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about taking over the country, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez warned the U.S. was on a “dangerous path” that could lead to a “bloodbath in Cuba”.

NBC Montana reported that Cuba’s statement said Ratcliffe met with his counterpart at the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday, May 14, “against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations” as the two long-strained countries looked to open political dialogue.

The BBC said the charge against the 94-year-old former Cuban president, Raúl Castro, is related to an incident in February 1996 when a Cuban MiG-29 shot down two small aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based organization, and four people died.

Reuters, via the BBC, reported that an indictment against Raúl Castro is pending approval by a grand jury and that a decision could be imminent, framing it as a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure on Cuba.

At the same time, the BBC reported that Cuba’s energy minister Vicente de la O Levy warned Cuba had completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, and that the power cut affecting large swathes of eastern Cuba and parts of the capital triggered hundreds of street protests in Havana.

ABC News said Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy called the situation with the national electrical system “critical” and said, “We have absolutely no fuel; we have absolutely no diesel.”

In the streets, residents in the San Miguel del Padrón neighbourhood were heard shouting “turn on the lights!”, as Reuters reported the biggest single night of demonstrations in the city since Cuba's energy crisis began in January.