US officials met Castro grandson in St. Kitts, Miami Herald reports

Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. officials close to Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the grandson of former Cuban leader Raul Castro on the sidelines of this week's regional Caribbean Community conference in St. Kitts and Nevis, the Miami Herald reported on Thursday.

Citing unnamed sources, the Miami Herald said it was not clear whether Rubio himself met with Castro's grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, who is also Raul Castro's bodyguard and the son of the late head of Cuba's GAESA military conglomerate.

Raul Castro, 94, played a key role in Cuba's 1959 leftist revolution and the preservation of Cuban socialism. He is the brother of Fidel Castro and was president from 2008 to 2018 and also served as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party.

Last week, Axios reported that Rubio had been holding secret talks with Castro's grandson, quoting an unnamed Trump administration official as calling the talks "discussions about the future", rather than negotiations.

Neither the U.S. State Department nor Cuba's foreign ministry immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

Asked on the reported meetings on Wednesday, Rubio told journalists he would not comment but that the U.S. was always prepared to talk to "officials from any government that have information to share with us."

"If someone in their system has information to share with us about changes they're open to making or moves they're prepared to accept, we would certainly listen to that," Rubio said.

Cuban officials were scheduled to address the media later on Thursday.