Secret US-Cuba Talks: Marco Rubio and Raúl Castro's Grandson

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, held secret talks with the grandson and current caretaker of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, as the United States exerts unprecedented pressure on the Havana government. This was reported on Wednesday by Axios. Rubio, of Cuban roots, and his team believe that the 41-year-old Castro grandson and his circle represent younger, business-minded Cubans for whom revolutionary communism has failed and who value a rapprochement with the United States. "Marco Rubio is talking to Cuba right now, and they should totally reach an agreement, because it... is really, a humanitarian threat," he said in statements aboard the presidential plane. The talks between Rubio and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro are bypassing the official channels of the Cuban government and demonstrate that the Donald Trump administration considers the 94-year-old revolutionary to be the true decision-maker on the island, even though he is no longer president, the media outlet reports. Trump assured on Monday night, in line with what he has pointed out several times in recent weeks, that his government is holding talks with high-ranking Cuban officials, something Havana has denied. Trump's advisors have spoken with other influential Cubans besides the young Castro, but he is considered the most important figure on the island with whom it is necessary to cultivate the relationship. "He is his grandfather's favorite," he served as the dictator's bodyguard and also has allies who lead the giant Cuban military-business conglomerate known as GAESA, a source told Axios, describing the talks between Rubio and Castro as "surprisingly" friendly. "We are talking to Cuba right now. I wouldn't call them 'negotiations,' but 'discussions' about the future," a senior Trump administration official told Axios. "Our position—the position of the U.S. government—is that the regime has to go," the senior official told Axios, "but exactly what that will look like depends on President Trump and he hasn't decided yet. Rubio is still in talks with his grandson." Vehicles are gradually disappearing from the streets, and hospitals and state offices are on minimal service, as blackouts extend for hours across Cuba. The possibility of a dialogue between Washington and Havana that could alleviate the island's fuel squeeze is re-emerging with the latest statements from the U.S. administration, pointing to talks. The situation on the island is having consequences for the supply of all kinds of products. (The U.S. Secretary of State) The U.S.'s ironclad energy blockade...