Cuba Is Running Out of Everything — And the CIA Just Showed Up With a Warning
The Cuban Communist government has run out of fuel, its power grid is collapsing, its people are protesting in the streets… and the Director of the CIA just flew to Havana with a message from President Donald Trump.
Cuba’s Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy admitted on state television Wednesday what everyone on the island already knew: Their the communist regime is completely out of options.
“We have absolutely no fuel,” de la O Levy said, and “no reserves” to power its crumbling electrical grid.
Blackouts across Havana have stretched to 24 consecutive hours. In Cuba’s eastern provinces, the entire power grid collapsed and plunged millions into darkness. Hospitals have canceled surgeries. Refrigerators have stopped working and food is spoiling across the country. Work hours have been slashed.
Most of Cuba’s power plants have been running for four decades without proper maintenance, and the government has been unable to upgrade the failing grid for years before the current crisis hit.
On Wednesday night, Cubans had enough. Hundreds of residents took to the streets of Havana in the largest anti-government demonstrations the capital has seen in decades. Protesters were banging pots and pans, setting fire to garbage cans, blocking roads, and shouting “Turn on the lights!”
Into this powder keg walked CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe flew to Havana Thursday for a meeting with Cuba’s top security and intelligence officials. It is only the second time a CIA director has set foot in Cuba since Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959. He met with “Raulito” Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former leader Raul Castro.
“Director Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials in Havana to personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,” a CIA official said. “During the meeting, Director Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.”
The U.S. State Department has offered $100 million in humanitarian aid, channeled through the Catholic Church, the same arrangement Secretary of State Rubio outlined at the Vatican. The Cuban regime is reportedly considering the offer.
“The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical life-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance,” a State Department statement said.