CIA highlighted Cuba's grim economy but gave mixed view on government falling

MIAMI/WASHINGTON, Jan 10 - U.S. intelligence has painted a grim picture of Cuba’s economic and political situation, but its assessments offer no clear support for President Donald Trump’s prediction that last weekend’s military action in nearby Venezuela leaves the island nation “ready to fall,” said three people familiar with the confidential assessments.

The CIA’s view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions and other problems. The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela, for decades a key ally, could make governing more difficult for the administration that has ruled Cuba since Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.

But the most recent CIA assessments were inconclusive on whether the worsening economy would destabilize the government, said the people familiar with the intelligence, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information.

CUBA 'READY TO FALL': TRUMP

These assessments are notable because Trump and other U.S. officials have suggested that shutting off Venezuelan oil to the island after the Caracas operation could topple the government in Havana, a longtime dream of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and some other high-ranking officials in the Trump administration.

"Cuba looks like it is ready to fall," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. "I don't know if they're going to hold out, but Cuba now has no income. They got all their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil."

The White House, the CIA and the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not determine if the CIA had produced an updated assessment since U.S. forces arrested Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro last Saturday.

Venezuela is Cuba's top oil supplier. Since Maduro's capture, the U.S. has successfully pressed Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez to send essentially all of Venezuela's oil to the U.S.

Given the dire assessments of Cuba's energy situation even when Venezuelan oil was flowing to the island, the impacts of Caracas' shifting oil flows on Cuba's economy will be severe, independent analysts say.

ENOUGH PAIN FOR A REVOLUTION?

Cuba's Communist economy has performed poorly for decades amid rigid state planning and a U.S. embargo.

But a confluence of factors in recent years - including Venezuela's declining economy and a drop-off in tourism following the COVID-19 outbreak - has compounded Cuba's pain.

The people who were familiar with the intelligence and spoke to Reuters said the CIA had described Cuba's economy in very poor terms - although their descriptions differed in degree. One official said the situation described in the assessments was not quite as bad as the "Special Period" of the 1990s, a time of prolonged economic pain following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union's support in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

One of the officials, however, said blackouts were lasting on average 20 hours a day outside of Havana, which had not occurred previously.

Whether or not economic suffering actually leads to government change is unclear - a reality acknowledged in the CIA assessments.

OUTMIGRATION OF YOUNGER PEOPLE

Two U.S. officials said the U.S. government assessed that there has been a demographic collapse on the island in recent years, with large numbers of people under 50 having migrated from Cuba. That could blunt the push for political reform, which in other countries tends to draw energy from young people. 

Cuba's census estimated the population at over 10 million in 2023, but one of the officials said it likely now stands at less than 9 million.

Richard Feinberg, a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego who served in high-ranking U.S. national security roles for decades, said economic conditions in Cuba were "certainly very bad." 

He noted that Cuba’s President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who took office in 2021, does not have the widespread legitimacy enjoyed by former leader Fidel Castro.

"When a population is really hungry, what it does is, your day-to-day is just about survival. You don't think about politics, all you think about is putting bread on the table for your family," Feinberg said.

"On the other hand, people can become so desperate that they lose their fear, and they take to the streets." REUTERS