Where this was said
Will Grant: CIA Director Ratcliffe in Havana and What Comes After Venezuela
At 1:09:00 · chapter starts 1:08:20
Tommy raises the extraordinary fact of CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visit to Havana, which came directly after the Venezuela operation. Grant says he was standing on the Malecón during a Cuban government-organized protest outside the US Embassy when he learned Ratcliffe had gone to Venezuela — and then showed the news to a Cuban official, watching him 'literally turn gray.' Grant walks through the message Ratcliffe likely delivered: we indicted Raul Castro, we just demonstrated in Venezuela that we are capable of military action, and more than 34 of your soldiers were killed by Delta Force in seconds. He then analyzes the Cuba operation options: a personal action against the 95-year-old Castro would inflame Cuban nationalism even among those who want change; targeted action against younger leadership is more plausible; boots on the Malecón seemed outlandish even seven months ago, as Venezuela did. The only truly safe path for Cuba, Grant says, is a negotiated solution — but it requires wholesale economic and political transformation that Rubio will demand and that Havana may not be capable of delivering [1] — Will Grant "CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana just days after the Venezuela operation, in which 34 Cuban security officers were killed by Delt…" 1:08:15 .
More than 34 Cubans, who were security officers for Maduro, were killed during the US Delta Force operation in Venezuela, which Grant described as carried out in seconds.
A military operation against Raul Castro at 95 would inflame Cuban nationalism. Targeted action against younger leadership is possible. Boots on the Malecón seems outlandish but felt equally outlandish before Venezuela. Grant says the safest path for Cuba is a negotiated solution that means wholesale economic and political transformation — but no one knows if Havana is capable of going there.
