Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, is reportedly maintaining secret conversations with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson and current caretaker of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, as the United States escalates its pressure on the Havana government. These discussions are circumventing the official channels of the Cuban government and suggest that Donald Trump's administration considers the 94-year-old Raul Castro as still holding substantial influence over decision-making in the island nation, according to Axios.

According to a senior official from the Trump administration, these exchanges are not termed as 'negotiations' but rather discussions regarding the future of Cuba. Rubio, who has Cuban roots, and his team view Raúl Castro's grandson, who is 41 years old, and his circle as representing a younger, entrepreneurial-minded segment of the Cuban population, which perceives the revolutionary communist regime as a failure and is interested in fostering closer ties with the U.S.

This development indicates a significant foreign policy maneuvering by the Trump administration to engage with elements sympathetic to a different political outlook in Cuba without going through official state channels. It highlights a shift in strategy, reflecting a desire to connect with a younger generation that seeks a change from the longstanding communist governance, which they believe has hindered economic opportunities on the island.