Cuba confirms first official talks with Trump administration
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The Cuban government is holding talks with officials from the Trump administration, the country’s president said Friday, as Havana tries to stop a possible regime change while dealing with a widening energy crisis.
In a 90-minute press conference broadcast by state media, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said talks with Washington were aimed at finding a solution to political differences dividing the communist island and the United States, the New York Times reported.
But Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuba’s chief of mission in the United States, said in an interview with Politico that changes in Cuba’s political system are prohibited.
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Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel smokes a cigar during a cigar box auction held as part of the closing ceremony of the XXV Habanos Festival in Havana on February 28, 2025. (Getty Images; AP Photo)
Cuba’s economy has been struggling since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas at the beginning of the year. The Trump administration immediately cut oil exports to the island.
Torres Rivera said a number of key sectors across the island were under significant pressure, including transport, health and education systems. He noted that some 11,000 children are on the waiting list for surgeries and procedures performed at health clinics.
“They don’t have money. They don’t have anything right now,” President Donald Trump said in February. “Maybe we can take over Cuba amicably.”
Trump said a deal with Havana “could be done very easily.”
Trump in January national emergency declared Through an executive order on Cuba accusing the communist regime of collaborating with hostile foreign powers and terrorist groups.
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A woman holds a banner and Cuban flags as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump attend a protest against the Cuban government in Miami on February 28, 2026. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
He said last week that Cuba was “in negotiations.” [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] and me and a few others. And I think a deal can be made very easily with Cuba.”
Trump accused Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and an active advocate of regime change, of negotiating with Cuba.
On Friday, the Cuban government officially agreed to negotiations with Washington for the first time.
Rubio’s main counterpart during the talks was Raúl Rodríguez Castro, the island’s de facto leader and grandson of former president Raul Castro.
Díaz-Canel said the talks with the United States were necessary in part “to determine the willingness of both sides to take concrete steps,” according to the Times report.
He added that an FBI team will soon be deployed to participate in the investigation into 10 Cubans living in the United States who clashed with the Cuban coast guard last month.
A woman wearing a United States flag T-shirt sells Coquito on a street in Havana on March 13, 2026. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Agendas are being set, negotiations and discussions are taking place and agreements are being reached. There are still things that are far away because we are in the early stages of this process,” Díaz-Canel said. he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House.
