By Olivia Gazis
A senior U.S. State Department delegation traveled to Havana last week on a U.S. government plane, two U.S. officials and a State Department source told CBS News, marking the first such landing since President Barack Obama’s 2016 visit. The trip — first reported by Axios — signals a limited diplomatic opening even as the island faces escalating pressure from the Trump administration.
While in Havana, a U.S. diplomat met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former president Raúl Castro, whom U.S. officials describe as an important power broker inside Cuba’s leadership. Officials would not say who else participated in the meetings on either side.
According to a State Department official, the U.S. delegation pushed Cuban authorities for political and economic reforms, demanded the release of political prisoners and explored technical measures such as enabling Cuban access to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“The delegation reiterated that the Cuban economy is in free fall and that the island’s ruling elites have a small window to make key U.S.-backed reforms before circumstances irreversibly worsen,” the official told CBS News. The same source said President Trump remains willing to seek diplomatic solutions but “will not let the island collapse into a major national security threat if Cuba’s leaders are unwilling or unable to act.”
The visit comes amid a prolonged energy crisis in Cuba after the Trump administration threatened heavy tariffs on countries that export oil to the island. As a consequence, oil shipments have largely stopped, though the U.S. permitted a Russian-flagged tanker to dock in Havana last month as a humanitarian measure, the administration said.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized Cuba on the campaign trail and at public events, calling it a “failing country” and suggesting it “could be next.” He recently told reporters, without elaboration, that “we may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” and said he hopes to “bring about a day 70 years in waiting — it’s called a new dawn for Cuba.”
Both Washington and Havana acknowledge talks are ongoing, but officials on both sides say it is unclear how close the parties are to any agreement. Earlier this year Cuba announced plans to ease some restrictions on foreign investment — a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as insufficient.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected Mr. Trump’s rhetoric at a public rally and said the country will prepare for a possible military threat. “We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,” Díaz-Canel said.
Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.