CIA director meets with top officials in Havana, Cuban government says

By Dave Sherwood

HAVANA, May 14 (Reuters) – A U.S. delegation led by CIA director John Ratcliffe met with his counterpart at Cuba’s Interior Ministry in Havana on Thursday, the Cuban government said in a statement, as tensions worsen over a U.S. fuel blockade that has starved the island of fuel and power generation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has heaped pressure on Cuba since returning to office, and several days ago said the two longtime adversaries were “going to talk.”

Cuba’s representatives in the meeting emphasized that Cuba does not pose a threat to U.S. national security, the Cuban government said.

“Both sides also underscored their interest in developing bilateral cooperation between law enforcement agencies in the interest of the security of both countries, as well as regional and international security,” the statement said.

It did not name the Cuban officials who met with the U.S. delegation.

The statement was issued after a U.S. government plane was seen departing Havana’s international airport on Thursday afternoon, according to a Reuters witness. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has threatened that Cuba “is next” after U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro, the president of longtime Cuban ally Venezuela, in January.

Officials from both countries acknowledged earlier this year they were in talks, but negotiations appeared to founder amid the ongoing U.S. fuel blockade.

Widespread protests broke out across Havana on Wednesday evening as rolling blackouts in parts of the city spanned 24 hours or more, threatening to spoil frozen food reserves and making sleep all but impossible for many residents.

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Daina Beth Solomon; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and Simon Lewis, Editing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)