BASSETERRE, St Kitts — Senior aides to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a private meeting in St Kitts with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the influential grandson and security chief of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, according to reporting from the Miami Herald and Times Caribbean Online.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Senator - Isalean Felicitee Ciara Phillip shakes hands with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, on his arrival in St. Kitts and Nevis (Wednesday 25 Feb. 2026) Image Credit: SKNIS
The meeting took place inside the Coral Building, a secure facility near the St Kitts Marriott where Caribbean leaders were gathered for the 50th CARICOM Heads of Government Summit. Rodríguez Castro, known as “El Cangrejo,” arrived on a Cuban state aircraft under diplomatic clearance on 25 February. Rubio landed the same day for his official engagements with CARICOM leaders.
???????? US Secretary of State Rubio calls Cuba's overseas medical program "a version of human trafficking," saying doctors are barely paid and their freedom of movement is restricted. He made the remarks to press after attending the #CARICOM50 summit in St. Kitts. ???????? #Cuba #Caribbean pic.twitter.com/Q3qmdB4675
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While Rubio addressed the summit on regional security and migration pressures, his team reportedly conducted a separate back‑channel conversation with the Cuban delegation. The Miami Herald describes the exchanges as exploratory discussions about Cuba’s political future. Times Caribbean Online frames them as part of a wider “regime‑change storm,” noting that the talks bypassed President Miguel Díaz‑Canel’s civilian government and instead engaged the military‑linked Castro family network that Washington views as the island’s real centre of power.
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A senior U.S. official quoted in the reporting said the discussions were “about the future” rather than formal negotiations. The official added that Washington remains committed to its maximum‑pressure posture while being open to dialogue with actors willing to pursue significant reforms.
St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew, who studied medicine in Cuba for seven years, urged constructive engagement between Washington and Havana. As CARICOM Chair, he warned that Cuba’s deepening economic and humanitarian crisis, worsened by long‑standing U.S. restrictions on oil shipments to the island, is already creating instability across the region.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness delivered one of the most consequential interventions at the CARICOM 50th Summit yesterday. In a clear, steady message, he underscored the urgent need for regional maturity and collective action as Cuba faces deepening economic and humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/Zu2sitftRc
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Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness supported that position. He told leaders there is now “greater space for pragmatic engagement” than in previous years. Both leaders highlighted the risks of further deterioration in Cuba, including migration surges, economic shocks, and security pressures throughout the Caribbean.
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CARICOM officials have privately expressed concern that the U.S. oil embargo has accelerated Cuba’s economic collapse, driving shortages of fuel, food, and medical supplies. Several governments fear that unmanaged deterioration could push more Cubans into irregular migration routes that pass directly through the Caribbean.
Diplomats familiar with the summit say the presence of both Rubio and Rodríguez Castro in Basseterre created an unusual moment in regional diplomacy. While the official agenda focused on security cooperation and climate resilience, the parallel U.S.–Cuba contact underscored how deeply Cuba’s crisis now shapes the strategic calculations of Caribbean states.
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