A group of U.S. officials led by CIA Director John Ratcliffe were in Cuba on Thursday, according to a statement from the communist country, as Cuba suffers from sanctions put in place by President Donald Trump.
Ratcliffe was in Havana for a meeting with Cuba’s ministry of the interior, Cuba said.
Cuba said it poses no threat to U.S. national security and has no legitimate grounds to remain on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Cuba condemned terrorism and said it harbors no terrorist organizations, hosts no foreign military or intelligence bases, and has never supported hostile actions against the United States.
The U.S. embassy in Cuba referred comment to The White House, who referred comment to the CIA. The CIA didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
The meeting comes after Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social that Cuba was asking for help and the two countries were going to talk.
“No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, which is a failed country and only heading in one direction—down! Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk!!! In the meantime, I’m off to China!” Trump wrote in his post.
Cuban Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said on May 13 that the country has completely run out of diesel and heavy fuel oil, and its power grid has entered a “critical” state.
“We have absolutely no fuel [oil], and absolutely no diesel,” de la O Levy said, according to Cuba’s state-run media. “We have no reserves.”
De la O Levy said daily power outages were impacting millions of Cubans.
Trump said Cuba persecutes and tortures political opponents, provides a safe haven for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and supports adversaries of the U.S. and constitutes an “extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy.”
U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) commented on X on a video of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) saying she was working with other countries trying to figure out a way to get oil to Cuba despite the U.S. sanctions.
“Is there any Democrat at this point who isn’t openly admitting to betraying the country they were elected to serve?” Gill asked.
The World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance opposed a Jan. 29 executive order by President Donald Trump targeting countries that supply oil to Cuba, calling it a “fuel blockade” with severe humanitarian consequences.
The groups said Cuba depends heavily on imported fuel to power electricity, hospitals, water systems, transportation, and food distribution. They argued the policy amounts to collective punishment of the Cuban people and violates international law because it was imposed without United Nations authorization.
The organizations said Cuba was already suffering from decades of U.S. sanctions and economic hardship.