CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday as Havana said it remained unclear whether the American offer would be cash or in-kind assistance.

High-level talks in Havana

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials, including Raúl Castro's grandson, in Havana on Thursday, Cuban and U.S. officials said. The visit came after the Trump administration renewed a $100 million aid offer tied to demands for political reform.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel signalled openness to the offer but the government said it was still unclear whether the assistance would be delivered in cash or in-kind. Cuba's position has otherwise been consistent: officials want the United States to lift its oil blockade rather than offer compensatory aid.

A grid on the edge

Cuba's energy minister said the country has run out of diesel and fuel oil, describing the situation as "extremely tense." Large parts of eastern Cuba have been plunged into darkness during the latest round of electricity shutdowns, with residents enduring blackouts of up to 22 hours a day. Officials said the island had completely exhausted its diesel and fuel oil stocks, leaving its ageing power grid unable to meet demand.

Rare public protests have broken out over the worsening power cuts. Cuba's grid has deteriorated over several years under a prolonged economic crisis compounded by the U.S. energy blockade.

Washington's terms

The Trump administration framed the $100 million offer as contingent on reforms, blaming Cuba's communist leadership for "standing in the way" of aid. President Donald Trump separately called Cuba "a failed nation" as his administration expanded its pressure campaign.

New U.S. sanctions issued earlier this month targeted a military-controlled conglomerate. United Nations experts warned those measures risked causing "energy starvation." Cuba's government condemned the sanctions as "illegal," "abusive," and "collective punishment" of the Cuban people.

Havana's counter-position

Cuba confirmed it had held earlier meetings with U.S. officials on the island, with a Cuban Foreign Ministry official describing those exchanges as "respectful and professional" and free of threats. The government's public line, however, remains that Washington should end the blockade rather than offer aid on political conditions.

No agreement was announced following Ratcliffe's Thursday visit.