CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday, the communist government announced, as the island confronts record energy shortages. The visit underscored a period of strained US-Cuba relations, intensified by Washington’s fuel blockade imposed in January and then-President Donald Trump’s sanctions and musings about taking over the island. According to a government statement, the meeting aimed “to contribute to the political dialogue between both nations” within the “complexity of bilateral relations.” The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Cuban statement further claimed that the exchanges “demonstrated categorically that Cuba does not constitute a threat to US national security, nor are there any legitimate reasons to include it on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.” It emphasized, “Cuba has never supported any hostile activity against the United States, nor will it permit actions against any other nation to be carried out from Cuba,” in reference to allegations of a Chinese presence. Despite ongoing tensions, intergovernmental talks persist, including a high-level diplomatic meeting in Havana on April 10, which marked the first landing of a US government plane in the Cuban capital since 2016.
The island’s energy crisis has significantly worsened since the US-imposed fuel blockade began, with only one Russian oil tanker having arrived since then. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy characterized the situation as “very tense,” informing state television that Cuba’s oil reserves have now “run out.” Concurrently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed an offer of $100 million in aid, contingent on the assistance being distributed by the Catholic Church, thereby bypassing the Cuban government. In response, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel used X to urge the United States to lift its blockade instead. He asserted that “the damage could be eased in a much simpler and faster way by lifting or relaxing the blockade, since it is known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced.” Nevertheless, Diaz-Canel affirmed that if Washington exhibited “true willingness” to provide aid, “it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba.”
Eastern Cuba was plunged into the latest national power outage on Thursday, though electricity was restored to some areas later in the day. This deepening crisis has sparked protests across the island. A resident of San Miguel del Padron, a neighborhood on Havana’s outskirts, told AFP that people protested on Wednesday evening by banging pots and pans. AFP also gathered accounts of several other similar small demonstrations held in neighborhoods throughout the capital. “Turn on the lights!” residents in Playa, located in the city’s western part, shouted. Data compiled by AFP indicated prolonged blackouts and record generation shortfalls in recent days, with 65 percent of Cuban territory experiencing simultaneous power outages on Tuesday. Commenting on the situation, Rubio told Fox News, “It’s a broken, nonfunctional economy, and it’s impossible to change it. I wish it were different.” He concluded, “I don’t think we’re going to be able to change the trajectory of Cuba as long as these people are in charge.”
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