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Officials from the U.S. State Department met last Friday in Havana with representatives of the Cuban regime, in what marks the first landing of a U.S. government plane on the island since President Obama's visit a decade ago.
The meeting, revealed exclusively by Axios, marks a diplomatic milestone occurring during the worst economic moment Cuba has faced since the Special Period of the 90s; and increases pressure on the regime.
A senior official from the State Department confirmed that multiple meetings took place, although he only publicly identified one of the Cuban participants: Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "Raulito" and nicknamed "El Cangrejo."
Washington considers "Raulito" to be the de facto spokesman for his grandfather Raúl Castro, who at 94 years old remains the real power on the island, overshadowing the formal president Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The grandson, a 41-year-old lieutenant colonel and head of the elderly leader's personal security, had already made initial contact with a close advisor to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saint Kitts during the CARICOM summit held in March.
The message conveyed by the delegation to the regime was direct: "The Cuban economy is in free fall and the ruling elites of the island have a small window to implement key reforms backed by the U.S. before circumstances worsen irreversibly."
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