The talks come amid growing tensions with the US after Trump mentioned he could be ‘honoured’ to take over Cuba.
Printed On 26 Mar 2026
Former Cuban President Raul Castro is concerned in talks between the island and the US, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has mentioned, amid hovering tensions between the 2 states.
Diaz-Canel on Wednesday mentioned the talks had been within the early levels, as nationwide blackouts continued from an oil blockade carried out by US President Donald Trump.
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The announcement, in a videotaped interview with Diaz-Canel shared by state media, comes after Trump final week mentioned he would have “the honour of taking Cuba” quickly.
The Cuban president predicted that any course of that results in an settlement could be prolonged.
“First, we should construct a channel for dialogue. Then, we should construct widespread agendas of pursuits for the events, and the events should reveal their intention to maneuver ahead and actually decide to this system based mostly on the dialogue of these agendas,” he mentioned.
Castro “is a type of who, together with me and in collaboration with different branches of the [Communist] Celebration, the federal government, and the State, has guided how we should always conduct this dialogue course of, if this dialogue course of takes place,” he added.
Although Diaz-Canel turned president in 2018, the 94-year-old revolutionary chief, a brother of Fidel Castro, remains to be thought of probably the most highly effective particular person within the nation.
Raul Castro, who served as president for a decade till 2018, led historic talks with former US President Barack Obama in 2014 that led to the reopening of embassies and re-establishment of diplomatic relations.
In late January, Trump threatened tariffs on any nation that sells or supplies oil to Cuba as he pushed for a change within the island’s political mannequin.
Though the preliminary threats had been formally softened, the embargo stays in place. The island has not acquired any gasoline shipments for 3 months.
Extended energy outages and a near-paralysis of financial and social life are the seen penalties on the island, which within the final week skilled two nationwide blackouts that left thousands and thousands with out electrical energy as Cuba’s energy grid continues to crumble.
Francisco Pichon, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, warned of a “humanitarian disaster” if the state of affairs continues to spiral.
Pichon and different officers mentioned $94m had been wanted to deal with the power disaster and hurricane injury from final 12 months.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned final month of a humanitarian “collapse”.
World Well being Group Director-Basic Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday mentioned the well being state of affairs in Cuba was “deeply regarding” because the supply of well being providers is in peril.
