Teresa Rodriguez, 58, watches Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on state television as Diaz-Canel says the country has opened talks with the U.S. government amid a severe economic crisis and the communist government is under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, March 13, 2026, in Havana, Cuba.
Norlis Perez | Reuters
The Cuban government has held talks with the administration of Donald Trump, the country’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday.
It confirmed speculation that the two countries were talking after US President Trump renewed his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the communist-run Caribbean island was in “deep trouble”.
“These conversations are aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences that exist between the two nations,” Díaz-Canel said, according to a reading posted on social media by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
“There are international factors that facilitated this exchange,” Díaz-Canel said.
The country is facing a worsening financial crisis. The US has imposed an oil embargo on the island since January, shortly after its ally and major oil supplier Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured in an extraordinary military operation.
A massive blackout last week left millions without power on the island.
At a press conference on Friday, Díaz-Canel warned that the talks would be “long processes” that would require the will and channels for dialogue, adding that “all of this will take time,” according to CBS News.
Trump has recently spoken publicly about the prospect of Cuba becoming another major foreign policy issue.
After toppling Iran’s regime, the US president said earlier this month that “Cuba will fall too,” according to Politico.
(tags to translate) Breaking News: Politics
