CIA chief meets Cuban officials in Havana

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has held a meeting with representatives of the Cuban government in Havana, according to the statement by the official Cuban authorities.

Havana said the talks with senior officials from the Interior Ministry took place at the request of the United States and were aimed at advancing political dialogue between the two countries against the backdrop of “complex” bilateral relations.

According to the Cuban side, Ratcliffe was told during the meeting that the island “does not pose a threat to the national security of the United States,” and that there are no grounds for keeping Cuba on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Cuban authorities also stressed that the country does not support or finance terrorist organisations and has not been involved in hostile activities against the United States.

At the same time, NBC News, citing a CIA representative, reported that the visit was used to convey a message from President Donald Trump expressing Washington’s readiness for serious dialogue on economic and security issues, provided there are fundamental changes on Cuba’s part.

Relations between the United States and Cuba have remained strained since 1959 and worsened after Trump returned to the White House in 2025, when Cuba was once again designated a state sponsor of terrorism.

In recent months, both sides have acknowledged contacts, though details of those exchanges have not been made public.

The visit coincided with a separate development reported by the US State Department, which said Cuban human rights activist Sissi Abascal Zamora and her family had left the country and arrived in the United States following her release from prison, where she had been serving a six-year sentence for taking part in the 2021 protests.

By Tamilla Hasanova