CIA director visits Cuba for rare meeting as island runs out of fuel

CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba 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 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 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 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, a...

Original source: Axios