Cuba-U.S. Open Talks

M.A. Dworkin

Havana, Cuba - As the Trump Administration ramps up efforts to overthrow the current Cuban regime or bring it to its knees, a senior U.S. delegation met recently with Cuban government officials in Havana. 

It was one of the highest-level visits of U.S. officials in a decade and comes as President Trump threatens covert military action similar to the overthrow of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. The meeting between a senior State Department delegation comes as Cuba’s economic crisis continues to worsen amid a U.S. oil blockade, sharp government restrictions, including low fuel supplies, empty grocery store shelves and civil unrest in the streets.

“Time is running out for Havana to make key U.S. backed reforms before circumstances become irreversible,” a U.S. State Department official told news sources.

Trump has hinted at military intervention in Cuba and warned of tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. The U.S. fuel blockade has aggravated Cuba’s economic and energy crisis, leading to warnings of a humanitarian disaster. 

Cubans have also braced for an attack following Trump’s repeated warnings that the country will be next after his war on Iran and the U.S. military’s abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro in January 2026.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Alejandro Garcia del Toro said that the U.S. delegation included Assistant Secretaries of State, and the Cuban delegation included representatives at the level of Deputy Foreign Minister. Mr. del Toro said lifting the U.S. oil blockade was “a top priority,” calling it “an unjustified punishment of the entire Cuban population.”

“It is also a form of global blackmail against sovereign states, which have the right to export fuel to Cuba, in accordance with the principles of free trade,” he added. 

Mr. del Toro also said the U.S. delegation did not issue any threats or deadlines as has been reported by some U.S. media outlets.

“The entire exchange was conducted with respect and professionalism,” he said.

The Trump Administration has admitted to holding multiple meetings in Havana, including with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of former President Raul Castro. 

According to reports, U.S. officials laid out several conditions in order for negotiations with Cuba to continue, including the release of prominent political prisoners, an end to political repression, and liberalizing the island’s ailing economy. Talks also centered on allowing Elon Musk’s Starlink internet terminals into the country and providing compensation for Americans and U.S. corporations for assets confiscated by Cuba after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro. Washington was also concerned about the influence of foreign powers on the island. 

Meanwhile, Cuba’s President, Miguel Diaz-Canel has made increasingly defiant calls to resist U.S. military aggression. “We are prepared to fight if the U.S. carries through on its threats,” he stated.  

Leaders of Mexico, Brazil and Spain, meeting in Barcelona as part of a gathering of progressive heads of state, issued a joint statement pledging increased humanitarian aid to Cuba and calling for its sovereignty to be respected.