一名中央情报局官员说，美国中央情报局局长约翰·拉特克利夫周四在哈瓦那会见了古巴高级官员，这次突然访问正值两国关系异常紧张之际。
“今天，拉特克利夫主任会见了古巴官员，包括劳利托·罗德里格斯·卡斯特罗、内政部长拉萨罗·阿尔瓦雷斯·卡萨斯和古巴情报部门负责人，亲自传达了特朗普总统的信息，即美国准备认真参与经济和安全问题，但前提是古巴做出根本性的改变，”一名中情局官员在一份声明中说。
这名官员说，在会议期间，拉特克利夫局长和古巴官员讨论了情报合作、经济稳定和安全问题，“所有这些都是在古巴不再是西半球对手的避风港的背景下进行的”。
在国家广播公司播出的一份声明中，古巴政府证实了这次会面，称是美国要求的。
古巴政府在声明中说:“古巴方面提供的信息以及与美国代表团进行的讨论，使我们有可能明确表明，古巴对美国国家安全不构成威胁，也没有正当理由将其列入涉嫌支持恐怖主义的国家名单。”
受美国今年早些时候逮捕被驱逐的委内瑞拉领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗(Nicolas Maduro)的袭击的鼓舞，唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统越来越多地将注意力转向对古巴的最大压力运动，警告即将采取行动数月。
最近几周，特朗普曾说过古巴的政治制度需要“戏剧性地”改变，并一再宣称美国将“很快与古巴做些事情”
本月早些时候，特朗普上周在佛罗里达州发表讲话时表示，在伊朗行动后，“古巴将是下一个”，美国将“几乎立即接管古巴”。
迄今为止，奥巴马政府一直依靠经济策略向古巴施压。1月，特朗普宣布了征收额外关税的计划向古巴提供石油的国家，宣布这个岛国进入国家安全紧急状态。
封锁切断了哈瓦那与外国石油运输的联系，加剧了该岛的能源危机，导致该国电网濒临崩溃，大规模停电。
周四，在最近的电力故障中，古巴能源部长Vicente de la O Levy称国家电力系统的情况“危急”，并说:“我们绝对没有燃料;我们绝对没有柴油。”
根据一份声明，本月早些时候，特朗普政府对该政权的成员实施了新的制裁，白宫称这些成员“参与了政府腐败或严重侵犯人权的行为，或者是古巴政府的代理人、官员或物质支持者”情况说明书由白宫发布。
在一个上周接受ABC新闻采访古巴外交部长布鲁诺·罗德里格斯警告说，美国正走在一条“危险的道路上”，可能导致“古巴的大屠杀”，以回应特朗普关于接管该国的持续言论，并表示两国之间的谈判“没有进展”。
CIA Director John Ratcliffe meets with top Cuban officials in Havana
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with top Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday, a CIA official said, in a surprise visit that comes amid extraordinary tension between the two countries.
“Today, Director Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials, including Raulito Rodriguez Castro, Minister of Interior Lazaro Alvarez Casas, and the head of Cuban intelligence services in Havana to personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes," a CIA official said in a statement.
During the meeting, Director Ratcliffe and the Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security -- "all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere," the official said.
In a statement read on the air by the state broadcaster, the Cuban government confirmed the meeting, saying the U.S. requested it.
"The information provided by the Cuban side and the discussions held with the U.S. delegation made it possible to categorically demonstrate that Cuba does not constitute a threat to U.S. national security, nor are there legitimate reasons to include it on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism," the Cuban government said in its statement.
Emboldened by the U.S. raid that led to the capture of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, President Donald Trump has increasingly turned his attention to a maximum pressure campaign on Cuba, warning of imminent action for months.
In recent weeks, Trumphas saidthat Cuba's political system needs to change "dramatically" and has repeatedly declared that the U.S. will be "doing something with Cuba very soon."
Earlier this month, while speaking in Florida last week, Trump said that after the operation in Iran, "Cuba is going to be next," and that the U.S. will be "taking over Cuba almost immediately."
So far, the administration has relied on economic tactics to pressure Cuba. In January, Trumpannounced a plan to impose additional tariffson countries that provide oil to Cuba, declaring a national security emergency regarding the island nation.
The blockade, cutting off Havana's access to foreign oil shipments, has deepened an energy crisis on the island, pushing the county's power grid near collapse, with massive blackouts.
On Thursday, amid the latest power failure, Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy called the situation with the national electrical system "critical" and said, "We have absolutely no fuel; we have absolutely no diesel."
Earlier this month, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions aimed at members of the regime that the White House said were "complicit in government corruption or serious human rights violations, or are agents, officials, or material supporters of the Cuban government,” according to afact sheetpublished by the White House.
In aninterview with ABC News last week, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez warned that the U.S. was on a "dangerous path" that could lead to a "bloodbath in Cuba" in response to Trump's continued rhetoric about taking over the country, and said there had been "no progress" in talks between the two countries.
