The message that the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, delivered in Havana on May 15 was clear: Cuba must make fundamental changes before a "window of opportunity" closes, and the U.S. offer will not remain open indefinitely.
This is how journalist Miguel Cossío, based in Miami, analyzed it in statements that delve into the political significance of the secret meeting between the CIA and Cuban officials.
"The message from John Ratcliffe that the CIA made public later is very simple: you need to make fundamental changes before a window closes," Cossío summarized.
The journalist emphasized how the Cuban regime presented the meeting to its own press: as a gathering held "at the request of the United States."
For Cossío, this narrative reveals Havana's defensive stance. "I'm the one with the problem, but you’re the one who requested the meeting," he quipped, paraphrasing the implicit message from the Cuban government to its internal audience.
On the Cuban side, the Minister of Interior Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Brigadier General Ramón Romero Curbelo —head of the Intelligence Directorate of MININT— and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo," grandson of Raúl Castro, participated.
The meeting was approved, according to the official Cuban statement itself, by "the country's top leadership."
According to Cossío, the underlying message that Ratcliffe would have conveyed to his interlocutors was unequivocal: Washington has active investigations and is well aware of the regime's operations.
"We have many ongoing investigations. We are well aware: what is happening, who our real enemies are, and whom you have provided shelter to," paraphrased the journalist.
Among the activities that the U.S. attributes to the Cuban regime, Cossío mentioned Medicare fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking, in addition to drug trafficking in the past.
But the central concern of Washington, according to the analyst, goes further: it is China's and Russia's operations in Cuban territory and the refuge that the island offers to fugitives from U.S. justice.
"I'm not just talking about the refugee fugitives of American justice who have found refuge in Cuba, but also about the operations of China and Russia on Cuban soil, which is something that does concern the United States," Cossío stated.
The journalist also explained why the CIA decided to release photos of the meeting, which is unusual for this type of operation. Cossío believes that exposing the face of the head of Cuban intelligence was a deliberate signal: Washington knows exactly who it is dealing with. "John Ratcliffe has no problem appearing in any photo or walking down a hallway in the Capitol," he noted.
Cossío was the first to publicly identify Romero Curbelo from exile. He has cataloged him as number 10 in his "Castrist deck", a card game created in 2021 — after the protests of July 11 — to showcase the faces of power in Cuba, inspired by the one used by the U.S. with Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.
Regarding the actual capacity of Cuban espionage, Cossío was precise: “Technology has far surpassed espionage activities. Cuba has fallen significantly behind. Despite this, it still poses not a military threat to the United States, but rather a threat to intelligence and national security.”
The analyst also pointed out that since February of this year, Southern Command has intensified flights for the collection of electronic information and surveillance over the island, reinforcing the understanding that Washington's pressure on Cuba is not only diplomatic but also involves active intelligence.
The meeting comes at a time when the regime is facing six simultaneous crises, including a severe energy crisis that resulted in two total collapses of the national electrical system in March 2026, and an economic crisis with no visible solution.
The window that Ratcliffe mentioned, according to Cossío, will not be open forever.
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