Cuba confirms it’s begun talks with U.S. over ‘bilateral differences’
MEXICO CITY — Cuba has begun direct negotiations with the United States in an effort to resolve “bilateral disputes” between the two countries, Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel said on Friday.
The comments, broadcast nationwide in Cuba, are the first confirmation of bilateral talks between two governments that have been fierce adversaries for nearly 70 years, since Fidel Castro’s revolution toppled U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
The exact purpose of the negotiations remains unclear, but the Trump administration – which cut off oil supplies to the island, triggering a serious energy crisis – has insisted that Cuba’s communist government must change.
In a statement posted on social media, Díaz Canel said: “The main objective of this conversation is, firstly, to identify bilateral problems that require a solution, based on their severity and impact, and, secondly, to find solutions to these identified problems. »
Rumors of direct negotiations between the two countries have been circulating for months, but neither Washington nor Havana had until now confirmed these negotiations.
On Tuesday, Cuban Ambassador to the United States Lianys Torres Rivera told the Times that the Cuban government was “ready to engage with the United States on issues important to bilateral relations and to talk about those where we have differences.”
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, have insisted the current administration must change.
“It may be a friendly takeover, but it may not be a friendly takeover,” Trump told Latin American leaders meeting Saturday in Florida.
“It doesn’t matter because they’re, as they say, on fumes. They don’t have power. They don’t have money. They’re in big trouble,” Trump said.
On Friday morning, Trump responded to the Cuban leader’s desire to negotiate by amplifying a news article headlined: “Cuba Confirms Negotiations with Trump Officials, Raising Hopes for Deal with U.S.” He posted this on his Truth Social account.
Recurring power outages, food and medicine shortages, lack of gasoline and other shortages have become daily occurrences on the island, home to 10 million people. Images of uncollected trash rotting in the streets of Havana were broadcast around the world. The lack of jet fuel has bludgeoned the critical tourism sector.
“The status quo is not sustainable,” Rubio said last month. “Cuba has to change…And it doesn’t have to happen all at once. It doesn’t have to change from one day to the next.”
The Cuban announcement comes 13 days after the United States attacked Iran and two months after American forces, deployed by Trump, deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba, and brought him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
