CIA director has met officials in Havana for talks, Cuba claims | Cuba
The Cuban government said CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday as a way to improve dialogue between the United States and the communist-run island.
The statement said the meeting took place “in a context marked by the complexity of bilateral relations, with the aim of contributing to the political dialogue between the two countries.”
The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The swaps “make it possible to categorically demonstrate that Cuba does not pose a threat to US national security and that there is no legitimate reason to include it in the list of countries alleged to sponsor terrorism,” the Cuban statement said.
The statement referred to allegations regarding China’s presence and emphasized that Havana “has never supported any hostile activity against the United States and will not allow actions against any country other than Cuba.”
The visit came after U.S.-Cuban relations deteriorated significantly. Washington imposed a fuel blockade in January and President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the island and considered taking over it.
Conditions on the island are poor; Regular power outages and supply shortages are becoming the norm.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed his offer of $100 million (£74.6 million) in aid on the condition that the aid be distributed by the Catholic church, bypassing the government.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called on the United States to lift the blockade in an X-related post.
“Since the humanitarian situation is known to be coldly calculated and provoked, the damage can be mitigated much more simply and quickly by lifting or relaxing the blockade,” he said.
But he added that if Washington showed “genuine willingness” to provide aid, it would “face no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba.”
Despite tensions, intergovernmental talks continue and a high-level diplomatic meeting is held in Havana on 10 April; This meeting was the first time a US government plane had landed in the Cuban capital since 2016.
