A pedicab passes by a traffic light that disappeared due to a power outage in Havana on March 4, 2026.
Yamil Raji | AFP | Getty Images
The Cuban government has held talks with President Donald Trump’s administration, the country’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced on Friday.
The report confirmed speculation that the two countries were talking after US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba and said the communist-ruled Caribbean island was in “serious trouble.”
“These talks are aimed at finding a solution through dialogue to the bilateral differences that exist between our two countries,” Diaz-Canel said, according to a reading posted on social media by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
“There are international factors that encourage these exchanges,” Diaz-Canel said.
The country is facing a worsening economic crisis. The United States has imposed an oil blockade on the island since January, shortly after President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, an ally and key oil supplier, was detained in an unusual military operation.
Last week’s massive power outage left millions of people without power on the island.
Diaz-Canel warned at a press conference on Friday that negotiations are a “long process” that requires willingness and channels of dialogue, and said “everything takes time,” according to CBS News.
President Trump recently spoke publicly about the possibility of Cuba becoming a major foreign policy target again.
According to Politico, the US president said earlier this month that after the Iranian regime collapses, “Cuba will collapse too.”
