CIA Targets Split Within Cuban Leadership, The New York Times Unveils

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has clandestinely formed a task force solely focused on Cuba, aiming to create rifts within the political elite of the regime, as revealed by The New York Times on Wednesday, citing insiders familiar with the operation.

According to these sources, the group's mission is to "generate divisions among the Cuban political elite, with the goal of encouraging the replacement of staunchly anti-American figures with leaders who are more pragmatic and open to the demands" of President Donald Trump.

The task force has already started integrating officers skilled in spy recruitment, intelligence analysis, cyber operations, and specialists in covert influence operations.

The CIA declined to comment when approached by the New York-based newspaper.

This unit differs from the task force established in 1960 — whose members oversaw the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion the following year — in that it lacks organized Cuban partners and is not authorized to conduct lethal operations. However, due to its adaptable nature, the president can alter these authorities at any time.

The creation of this group is part of a broader escalation. The Trump administration recently revised its National Intelligence Priorities Framework (NIPF) to elevate Cuba to "Priority 1," placing it on the same level as China, Iran, and Russia.

As a result, agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency have begun redirecting satellites and other collection resources toward the island. This new intelligence will also aid the U.S. military in updating its contingencies for potential military action.

One of the most notable moves in this offensive was the visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana on May 14, where he met with Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo," Raúl Castro's grandson and a colonel in the MININT.

Ratcliffe delivered a dual message: he acknowledged Cuban intelligence services as "worthy adversaries and potential future partners," but warned that time was running out for them to make the changes demanded by Trump, hinting that Cuba could become "the next Venezuela."

The reference to Venezuela was not coincidental. The swift capture of Nicolás Maduro in January of this year led Trump's more hawkish advisors to speculate that the Cuban regime could collapse before the midterm elections in November.

However, these same hawks privately admit that decisive action against Havana "will likely only occur once the war in Iran has definitively concluded," according to the newspaper.

Among the tools the CIA might activate is the public disclosure of information on the financial dealings of Cuban leaders both inside and outside the island, aiming to tarnish their image in the eyes of the public, a tactic the agency has previously used against Russia.

The day before the Times article, Politico reported that Washington had deployed more intelligence assets to Cuba. Since February, reconnaissance aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon, RC-135V Rivet Joint, and MQ-4C Triton have logged over 150 hours of missions around the island.

The anti-Cuban hawks surrounding Trump "still believe the administration will eventually dedicate the necessary resources and attention to overthrow the Cuban government," concludes the Times, although the timeline largely depends on developments in the Iranian front.