Ratcliffe held talks with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and Cuban intelligence officials during the visit, marking one of the most significant direct intelligence-level engagements between Washington and Havana in years.

A CIA official said Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba “to personally deliver President Donald Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes.”

The Cuban government confirmed the meeting in a statement, describing it as taking place “against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations.”

According to U.S. officials, Washington reiterated concerns that Cuba could not remain a “safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere,” while Cuban representatives rejected assertions that the island posed a security threat to the United States and objected to Cuba’s continued designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, has long maintained influence within Cuba’s security establishment despite holding no formal government office. He previously served as his grandfather’s bodyguard and later oversaw Cuba’s equivalent of the Secret Service.

Officials familiar with the discussions said Rodríguez Castro also held a private meeting earlier this year with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Caribbean Community summit in St. Kitts.

The Havana meetings come amid escalating economic strain in Cuba following tighter U.S. restrictions on fuel shipments to the island. Cuban authorities have warned that severe shortages of diesel and fuel oil have destabilized the national electricity grid, leading to prolonged blackouts and worsening shortages of food and basic goods.

The continuing dialogue between U.S. and Cuban officials has also marked the first known U.S. government flights into Cuba outside the naval base at Guantanamo Bay since 2016.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department reiterated an offer to provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance and satellite internet support if the Cuban government agreed to permit distribution and access arrangements.

In January, President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba as part of a broader effort to pressure Havana economically. Trump has also warned of possible intervention in Cuba, although sources familiar with internal discussions told AP that military action was not considered imminent.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently said Cuba was prepared to defend itself against any external threat while continuing to accuse Washington of intensifying the island’s economic crisis through sanctions and fuel restrictions.