Related videos:
The CIA published on Thursday on its official X account three photographs from the visit of its director, John Ratcliffe, to Havana, accompanied only by the text "Havana, Cuba". The post, unusual for an agency that rarely publicly documents its operations, garnered over 2.4 million views within a few hours.
The images show a formal conference room with an oval table, microphones, red floral arrangements, and participants wearing simultaneous translation headsets. Several faces are deliberately blurred for security reasons. In another photograph, John Ratcliffe is seen next to a white SUV —identified as Toyota Land Cruiser GX-R— outside the United States Embassy in Havana, on the Havana Malecon, where he was greeted by Mike Hammer, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. diplomatic mission.
The Cuban counterpart at the meeting was the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), led by Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, who has been sanctioned by the United States under the Global Magnitsky Act since January 2021. Among the identified Cuban participants is also Ramón Romero Curbelo, head of the Intelligence Directorate of MININT.
The Cuban government confirmed the visit through an official statement from the Communist Party of Cuba, noting that it was "requested by Washington and approved by the Leadership of the Revolution." The regime also denied the existence of foreign military or intelligence facilities on the island, a claim that contrasts with documented evidence: the Center for Strategic and International Studies identified at least 12 Chinese signal intelligence facilities in Cuba.
According to CIA sources quoted by ABC News and the Miami Herald, Ratcliffe conveyed a message from President Trump: The United States is willing to engage in discussions on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes "fundamental changes."
The visit comes at a time of extreme political, economic, and energy tension in Cuba, with the regime facing internal pressure due to prolonged blackouts, shortages of food and fuel, and external pressure from the documented presence of Chinese intelligence and Russian warships on the island. Reuters captured on video the departure of the U.S. delegation from Cuba this Friday.
The fact that the CIA itself has released the images turns the visit into a high-profile political and diplomatic message: Washington wants the world to know that this contact took place and under what terms.
Gallery of images
The CIA director meets with officials of the Cuban regime
Ratcliffe stands during a ceremonial moment of the meeting in Havana. The scene reflects the official nature of the encounter, which took place amid rising tensions between Washington and the Cuban regime, following weeks of American pressure on the island.
The convoy of the U.S. delegation in Havana
One of the images shows the CIA director alongside vehicles of the U.S. delegation on a street in Havana. The security operation included a white Toyota Land Cruiser GX-R SUV, apparently prepared for high-level diplomatic transfers.
John Ratcliffe during the meeting in Havana
The CIA director is seen sitting at a conversation table with members of the U.S. delegation and Cuban representatives. The image was published by the agency itself with the location “Havana, Cuba,” amidst a high-profile visit characterized by secrecy.
Filed under: