Cubans riding electric tricycles decorated with Cuban flags pass in front of the US Embassy during an anti-imperialist youth march in Havana on April 2, 2026.
Yamil lage | AFP | getty images
The United States has reiterated its offer of aid to Cuba in exchange for “fundamental changes” to its communist political regime, after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited the Caribbean island nation on Thursday.
Ratcliffe’s visit is believed to be only the second time the head of a US intelligence service has visited the country since the 1959 communist revolution.
According to news agency Reuters, the CIA director delivered a message to Cuba’s top lawmakers, saying Washington would “seriously engage” with the country’s government – but “only if it makes fundamental changes.”
The CIA posted on Thursday photos On Ratcliffe’s social media in the Cuban capital Havana, without any context.
CNBC contacted the CIA for comment.
In a statement, the Cuban government said that during Thursday’s meeting, “both sides … underlined 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.”
Separately, CNN reported that the US military had carried out dozens Intelligence gathering flights near Cuba’s largest cities since February.
Cuba is about 100 miles off the coast of Florida. The Trump administration has called the Cuban government “an unusual and extraordinary threat”, suggesting that the White House may turn its attention to Cuba once the Iran war ends.
The country was heavily dependent on oil imports from Venezuela, but the Communist-run Caribbean island has been effectively cut off since a US military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January. The White House has also imposed new sanctions on several Cuban officials and organizations in recent weeks.
The prolonged oil blockade has plunged Cuba’s population into blackouts of up to 22 hours a day, sparking protests in Havana. On Wednesday, Cuba’s Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy told state media that the country had run out of fuel oil and diesel and had no reserves.
The Cuban government has long condemned the US blockade of the island, insisting that it poses no threat to US national security.
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is ready to provide Cuba with $100 million in aid, adding that Washington “continues to seek meaningful reforms to Cuba’s communist system.”
“It is up to the Cuban regime to decide whether to accept our offer of assistance or refuse critical life-saving assistance, and ultimately to be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance,” the statement said.