Washington-Havana contacts deepen even as Trump tightens pressure on Cuba Last updated: May 15, 2026 | 07:08 CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. File photo taken on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. AFP The head of the CIA visited Cuba on Thursday, an extraordinary step-up in contact between Washington and Havana as the communist-run island reels from US pressure, declaring that it is out of oil. The Central Intelligence Agency, at the heart of the decades-long struggle between the United States and Cuba, confirmed a Cuban government statement about Director John Ratcliffe's visit. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here . Photos posted by the agency on X showed Ratcliffe alongside several people with blurred-out faces meeting with Ramon Romero Curbelo, chief of the intelligence of the Cuban Interior ministry, and other Cuban officials.…