CIA director brought paramilitary leader involved in Maduro capture to Cuba meeting
When CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana last week to meet with senior Cuban officials, he brought along one of the covert operators involved in the mission to capture Nicolás Maduro, multiple people familiar with the matter said.
Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 6:04 PM EDT / CBS News
Venezuela and Cuba were allies before Maduro's arrest, and the Cuban government has said 32 of its military and police officers were killed in the January operation to extract Maduro .
Ratcliffe made a point of introducing the paramilitary leader to the Cubans as the one who killed their people in Venezuela, several sources said.
The presence of a paramilitary officer who was involved in capturing a key partner of the Cuban government just months earlier may have been intended to send a signal.
Ratcliffe's visit followed months of pressure on Cuba. The administration has threatened steep tariffs on any countries that export oil to the island nation, leading to severe fuel shortages.