Cuba confirms talks with U.S. — but warns an agreement will take time
Teresa Rodriguez, 58, looks at Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on state television. Diaz-Canel said in Havana, Cuba, on March 13, 2026, that the country had begun talks with the US government in the midst of a serious economic crisis and that the Communist government was under increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Norlys Perez | Reuters
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday that the Cuban government is in talks with the Donald Trump administration.
This confirms speculation that the two countries were talking after US President Trump renewed his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba and said the communist-run Caribbean island was in “deep trouble”.
“These talks aimed to seek solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences that exist between the two countries,” Díaz-Canel said, according to a statement. he said. sent by Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla on social media.
“There are international factors that facilitate this exchange,” Díaz-Canel said.
The country is facing an increasingly severe economic crisis. The United States has maintained an oil blockade of the island since January, shortly after its ally and a major oil supplier, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was captured in an extraordinary military operation.
The major power outage last week left millions of people on the island without electricity.
At a press conference on Friday, Díaz-Canel also warned that negotiations are “long processes” that require willingness and channels of dialogue, adding, “All this takes time.” CBS News.
Trump has recently spoken publicly about the possibility of Cuba becoming the subject of another major foreign policy move.
The US president said earlier this month that “Cuba will fall too” after the fall of the Iranian regime. According to Politico.
