The CIA Has Quietly Set Up a New Cuba Task Force to Pressure Havana, The New York Times Reports

The New York Times reported on Aug. 5, 2026, that the CIA has established a new classified task force focused on Cuba, part of a broader administration effort to pressure the Cuban government. According to the report, the unit is being staffed with case officers who recruit and run agents, intelligence analysts, officers conducting cyber operations and specialists in covert influence operations, allowing the agency to shift financial, human and technical resources toward Cuba quickly. The reported goal is to expose and exploit divisions within Cuba’s ruling elite and encourage the emergence of leaders more open to Washington. The Times reported that the task force is not authorized to train armed proxies or conduct lethal operations, distinguishing it from the 1960 Cuba task force that oversaw the Bay of Pigs invasion. Cuba has reportedly been elevated to “Priority 1” in the National Intelligence Priorities Framework, the tier occupied by China, Russia and Iran.

Covert action aimed at changing another government’s leadership sits at the outer edge of what intelligence agencies do, and the reported scope — influence operations and cyber, without paramilitary authority — defines a middle path whose legal basis rests on a presidential finding that has not been made public. Congressional intelligence committees would be entitled to notification, but no oversight response has been reported.

The reporting rests on unnamed sources and has not been confirmed by the CIA or the White House. The account follows earlier administration moves against Cuba, including a secondary-sanctions order signed in May 2026.