6 hours ago Paul Gribben and Tom McArthur AFP via Getty Images A man cooks with firewood during a blackout in Havana CIA director John Ratcliffe has met his Cuban counterpart at the interior ministry in Havana, after the US renewed an offer of $100m (£74m) of aid to ease the effects of its oil blockade. A Cuban statement said the meeting was an attempt to improve dialogue and American officials were told Havana was not a threat to US national security. A CIA official told BBC's US partner, CBS News, that the US is "prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes". Fuel shortages exacerbated by the US oil blockade on the country have left hospitals unable to function normally and forced schools and government offices to close. Separately, Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said that instead of offering aid, conditions could be eased faster if the US lifted its blockade.…