We noted on Thursday that, once President Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded, the Trump team's next focus would likely shift back toward Cuba. That pivot now appears underway. Aboard Air Force One early Friday, while returning stateside, Trump told reporters that "Cuba needs our help," signaling the Caribbean island nation is moving higher on the administration's agenda.
A new AP report offers more insight into how the Trump administration is shifting attention back toward Cuba: CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with officials in Havana on Thursday, reopening a channel for political dialogue between the two countries.
Ratcliffe and top U.S. officials, some of whose faces were blurred in images released by the CIA on X, held high-level talks with Cuba's Interior Minister, the head of Cuban intelligence, and Raúl Castro's grandson, Raulito Rodríguez Castro.
Havana's communist government released a statement noting that the meeting "took place Thursday, May 14, against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations."
AP noted that Cuban officials presented a report to Ratcliffe and his team, claiming to demonstrate that the communist-run island poses no threat to U.S. national security.
Consequently, Havana maintains there are no legitimate grounds for its continued inclusion on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
As per The Washington Times, "Cuba's intelligence apparatus is training foreign nationals to wage war against the West."
Thursday's meeting comes after a report that Cuba's power grid collapsed further into blackout conditions, as Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy warned that the island is completely out of fuel for diesel generators. This comes as Trump's fuel blockade remains in effect.
Let's not forget that the Trump team is prepared to provide $100 million in direct humanitarian assistance if Havana moves forward with political reforms after decades of nation-killing communism.
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Trump and his team appear to be refocusing their efforts on the Western Hemisphere, with more news on Cuba likely to come next week.