Threatened indictment of Raúl Castro ratchets up US pressure on Cuba

The US has also held bilateral talks with Rodríguez Castro, a decision that has caused widespread disquiet among many Cubans who complained that Raúl’s grandson holds no official role in government.

Amid speculation that the US was trying to force a split in the government, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the island’s current president, held a press conference to confirm the talks, and Raúl Castro’s involvement, while Rodríguez Castro sat watching on.

Until this week, it had been assumed the discussions were foundering as the Cuban government dragged its feet, hoping Washington was too distracted by its difficulties in Iran to push its case.

Yet Trump’s growing impatience has been clear. He himself told a conference in Florida at the start of May, that he might have the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln “stop roughly 100 yards off the [Cuban] shore”. In the last few weeks, US surveillance aircraft, both drones and manned, have been tracked circling the island.

“I still can’t imagine the US actually conducting a military operation with Iran still a mess,” said Michael Bustamante, chair of Cuban and Cuban American studies at the University of Miami. “But I also don’t think Cuba can afford that bet with no oil in the tank.”

The result of the meeting between the senior Cuban officials and CIA director Ratcliffe remains unclear. Each side restated their positions, the Cubans clarifying that the island “does not constitute a threat to US national security” and the US saying it was prepared to “seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes”.

The US State department had earlier said they would offer $100m in aid, so long as it was matched by “meaningful reforms”. In an unprecedented move, Bruno Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister, said the Cuban side would be accept the aid, so long as no strings were attached.

Meanwhile, Cuba’s 9.5 million population faces an uncertain future. What is certain, though, is that the lack of fuel on the island is creating a desperate present. Temperatures are rising into the 30s (high 80 fahrenheit) as summer approaches and people are struggling to sleep without fans, or keep food refrigerated.

The Cuban economy has been collapsing for five years now, and many are destitute, struggling to find enough to eat. On Wednesday, as people came on to the streets to complain, one told Reuters it wasn’t political: “We started banging pots to see if they would give us just three hours of electricity. That’s all we want.”