Cuba projects internal unity after Raul Castro’s grandson offers to negotiate with US

By Ayose Naranjo

HAVANA, July 10 (Reuters) – Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said on Thursday night that there were no divisions in Cuba’s leadership, days after “USA Today” published an interview with the grandson of former Cuban leader Raul Castro in which he said he was open to negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Raul Guillermo Rodríguez Castro’s unusual offer of dialogue has fueled speculation that there are divisions within Cuba’s power structure over how to engage with the United States. Castro, 42, known as “El Cangrejo”, does not have any official government offices in Cuba.

Marrero denied such speculation in comments on social media on Thursday.

“There were talks with representatives of the US government aimed at finding a solution to bilateral differences through dialogue,” he wrote.

“The working team created for this strategic responsibility has the confidence, support and authority of the General of the Army and First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President Miguel Diaz-Canel.”

Senior officials of the Cuban foreign ministry have repeatedly stated that there has been no significant progress in bilateral relations, although communication channels remain open.

Relations between the two countries flared at the United Nations earlier this week, with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla saying the US fuel embargo and economic sanctions amounted to “a systematic violation of the human rights of an entire people through an act of collective punishment.”

The vast majority of countries speaking during the debate called on Washington to lift the blockade and reverse sanctions that have crippled the island’s economy.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz said that the Cuban government was responsible for the power outages.

(Reporting by Ayose Naranjo, writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Nia Williams)