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

(Marc Caputo, Barak Ravid, Dave Lawler – Axios) CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba on Thursday to meet with intelligence officials and Raúl Guillermo “Raulito” Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former leader Raúl Castro. 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 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. – CIA director visits Cuba for rare meeting as island runs out of fuel