The Trump Administration looks out for another Delcy Rodriguez...
*CIA director visits Cuba for rare meeting as island runs out of fuel*
Marc Caputo,
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/authors/mcaputo>Barak
Ravid,
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/authors/barak_ravid>Dave
Lawler
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/authors/dlawler>,
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/14/cia-ratcliffe-cuba-talks-raulito
CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/2026/03/18/cuba-humanitarian-crisis-trump-strikes>on
Thursday to meet intelligence officials and Raulito Rodriguez Castro,
the grandson of former leader Raúl Castro.
*The big picture:*Cuba is facing a crippling fuel shortage and economic
crisis, due in part to U.S. sanctions. President Trump
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump>has
repeatedly indicated he wants regime change, though a CIA official said
Ratcliffe emphasized that cooperation is possible if the government
makes "fundamental changes."
* Ratcliffe urged the Cuban officials to take a lesson from the Jan. 3
operation that toppled Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the CIA official
said.
*The intrigue: *The fact that the Cuban government was willing to openly
host a member of Trump's administration — particularly the director of
the CIA — suggests some in Havana may be interested in a deal.
* "They have no fuel. They have no money. They have no one coming to
rescue them. The regime has been stubborn since 1959, but even they
realize it's time for a change," a senior administration official
claimed to Axios.
* Secretary of State Marco Rubio has led secret talks
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/2026/02/18/marco-rubio-cuba-secret-talks>with
Cuban leaders and power brokers, as Axios previously reported,
though there has been no clear breakthrough.
* The CIA official said Ratcliffe met with Raulito Castro, with whom
Rubio has been negotiating, as well as Interior Minister Lazaro
Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence.
*Zoom in: *Emergency sanctions announced
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.axios.com/2026/05/07/rubio-cuba-sanctions>last
week by Rubio sent a message to companies doing business with the Cuban
government that they'll face financial penalties.
* "It's hard for corporations to make money in Cuba and the sanctions
just make it not worth it for companies to stay there," the U.S.
official said.
*Driving the news: *The Cuban government was the first to reveal the
meeting and said it was "part of the efforts to address the current
scenario."
* Havana's readout said the Cuban side demonstrated to Ratcliffe that
Cuba is not a threat to the U.S. or a state sponsor of terror, as it
was designated in Trump's first term.
* The CIA official said Ratcliffe went to Havana "to deliver President
Trump's message that the United States is prepared to seriously
engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes
fundamental changes."
* "During the meeting, Director Ratcliffe and Cuban officials
discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security
issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe
haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere," the official said.
*State of play: *Other major headlines from Cuba over the past 24 hours
illustrate how fast the situation is deteriorating.
* Cuba's energy minister said Wednesday that the country had run out
of fuel oil and diesel and that blackouts could exceed 20-22 hours
per day.
* The fuel crunch came after the Maduro operation, when the U.S.
asserted control over the Venezuelan oil exports on which Cuba was
heavily reliant.
* There have been reports of hospitals struggling to provide
lifesaving care and Cubans going to extraordinary lengths to cook
meals without any gas for their stoves.
* Cuba also released a political prisoner
<https://archive.fo/o/szR4x/https:/www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/05/14/cuban-political-prisoner-released-negotiations/90083487007/>,
Sissi Abascal Zamora, on Thursday, in another sign that the
government is seeking to alleviate U.S. pressure.
*Between the lines:*The CIA director's meeting with an intelligence
services counterpart is significant because Cuba is a repressive spy
state that closely monitors its population.
* The U.S. wants to ensure that a non-repressive security structure
remains intact to avoid bedlam in the streets and mass migration to
the U.S., officials say.
*What to watch:*The CIA official stressed that the window of opportunity
for talks with the U.S. will not stay open indefinitely, and that Trump
will find another way to "enforce his red lines" if dialogue doesn't work.
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