CIA Director Visits Cuba as Island Runs Out of Oil
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- CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba on Thursday, meeting with Cuban Interior Ministry intelligence chief Ramon Romero Curbelo in a visit both the agency and the Cuban government publicly confirmed.
- Cuba's Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy announced the island has run out of oil, telling state television that the single Russian tanker shipment that broke through the US fuel blockade has been fully consumed.
- The energy collapse triggered nationwide blackouts, with 65% of Cuban territory losing power simultaneously on Tuesday, and protests including pot-banging demonstrations in Havana neighborhoods like San Miguel del Padron and Playa.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed a $100 million food and medicine aid offer tied to Catholic Church distribution that bypasses the Cuban government, telling NBC, "I don't think we're going to be able to change the trajectory of Cuba as long as these people are in charge."
- The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to indict 94-year-old Raul Castro, per CBS News citing unnamed US officials, after US forces toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January, severing Cuba's last oil supply line.
- Cuba framed the Ratcliffe meeting as a chance for political dialogue, denying it poses a national security threat or sponsors terrorism, while President Miguel Diaz-Canel urged Washington to lift the blockade.
Why it matters: Cuba's last oil lifeline was cut when the US toppled Maduro, and with a single Russian tanker now exhausted, the island faces total energy collapse — 65% of territory blacked out Tuesday. The $100 million conditional aid and reported push to indict Raul Castro signal Washington's strategy is regime change, not humanitarian relief.
