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The director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, visited Havana on Thursday leading a U.S. presidential delegation, marking one of the highest-level contacts between Washington and the Cuban regime in decades, as confirmed by the island's government through an official statement published on the website of the Communist Party of Cuba.
CiberCuba had access to the information before the regime publicly confirmed it, through two untraceable sources. The news was reported early when covering the landing of a U.S. Air Force plane at José Martí International Airport, identified as flight SAM554, a Boeing C-40B Clipper with tail number 01-0040, coming from Joint Base Andrews in Washington.
The prefix SAM stands for "Special Air Mission," a designation reserved for high-level flights of the U.S. government.
According to the official statement, "following the request submitted by the U.S. government for a delegation led by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, to be received in Havana, the Revolutionary Leadership approved this visit and the meeting with its counterpart from the Ministry of the Interior."
The regime's text describes the meeting as held "in a context characterized by the complexity of bilateral relations, aimed at contributing to the political dialogue between both nations."
The main focus of the meeting was the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT), on which the Trump administration reinstated Cuba in February 2025. The Cuban statement claims that the exchanges "categorically demonstrated that Cuba does not pose a threat to the national security of the U.S., nor are there legitimate reasons to include it on the list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism."
The regime also reiterated that the island "does not host, support, finance, or allow terrorist or extremist organizations" and that there are no foreign military or intelligence bases on its territory.
Both parties also expressed "interest in developing bilateral cooperation between the law enforcement and compliance agencies, in the interest of the security of both nations, regionally and internationally."
Ratcliffe's visit comes during a week of intense diplomatic activity. On May 12, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: "Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk!". The following day, Miguel Díaz-Canel declared that he is "always open to dialogue."
This Thursday, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla softened the Cuban stance on the offer of 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid proposed by the U.S., noting that Cuba is “willing to hear the details of the offer”, a notable shift from his position on May 9, when he described the proposal as a “fable” and a “lie of 100 million dollars.”
The immediate background of today's visit was the secret meeting on April 10, when a delegation from the State Department, overseen by Marco Rubio, made the first landing of an official U.S. aircraft in Cuba since 2016, meeting with Cuban Deputy Ministers to discuss issues such as the release of political prisoners, the opening of internet access through Starlink, and the presence of foreign groups on the island.
In parallel with the dialogue, the Trump administration has maintained a policy of maximum pressure: more than 240 sanctions imposed on Cuba since January 2026, interception of at least seven tankers, and at least 25 military surveillance flights near Cuban shores.
Ratcliffe has a background of high-level missions in the region: in January 2026, he traveled to Caracas to meet with Venezuelan officials as part of the negotiations that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, making his visit to Havana a signal of the strategic importance that Washington assigns to this process.
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