Retired CIA operative predicts Cuba will become Washington's next covert focus

Enrique “Ric” Prado, a 75-year-old former CIA officer who left the service with a rank equivalent to a two-star general, warned that Washington will turn its covert attention to Cuba after the war with Iran concludes. He linked this shift to the political dynamic created by Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which he says has revived stalled plans. Prado, who grew up in Cuba, was sent to the United States through Operation Peter Pan and later joined the Air Force before being recruited by the CIA in 1980 to train anti-Sandinista forces.

His career spanned assignments in Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Philippines, North Korea, and early counter-terrorism work against Osama bin Laden. He noted that the agency still maintains contacts inside Cuba and that a range of covert options could be presented to the president. Although he feels a lingering desire to help, he says his active field days are over, focusing instead on his family. The interview took place at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami.