Cuba confirmed this Friday that it is holding talks with States Joinedwhile the release of political prisoners began as part of an agreement with the Vatican, the historic mediator between the two countries.
The president Donald Trump He does not hide his desire for a regime change in Cuba, located just 150 km from the United States. According to Washington, the island represents an “exceptional threat” due to its close relations with Russia, China and Iran.
Trump urged Cuba to “reach a deal” or face the consequences. The island is going through an energy crisis that has almost completely paralyzed its economy after Washington cut off oil shipments from Venezuela, its main supplier, and threatened sanctions on other countries that sell it fuel.
“Cuban officials have recently held conversations with representatives of the United States government,” said the president. Miguel Diaz-Canel in a meeting with the highest authorities of the ruling Communist Party (PCC, sole) and the government, in images broadcast on Cuban television.
Talks between Cuba and the United States
These conversations seek “solutions through dialogue to bilateral differences,” Díaz-Canel said.
Among the leaders, in the front row, was Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former president Raúl Castro (2006-2018) and who, despite not holding any official position, has been identified by US media as the interlocutor of the head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, in the framework of secret talks with Cuba.
“As long as it benefits us, we agree, but with our conditions,” Sergio Guerra, a 55-year-old agricultural products seller, told AFP.
Díaz-Canel’s statements confirm what was said by Trump, who in mid-January indicated that his government was holding talks with senior leaders of the island.
Speaking to AFP this Friday, a White House official reiterated the Republican magnate’s assertion that Cuba is a “failed nation” and that an agreement with his government “would be very easy to achieve.”
Mexico, which during the last month has sent more than 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the island, mainly by ship, welcomed the talks.
“Mexico will always promote peace and diplomatic dialogue and, in particular, in the face of this injustice that has been committed for many years to the people of Cuba due to the blockade,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum.
‘The suffering is over’ for Cuba
According to Díaz-Canel, the exchanges with the United States were facilitated by “international factors,” which he did not specify.
On Thursday, his government had announced the early release of 51 prisoners as a show of “good will” towards the Vatican.
The first releases took place this Friday. The AFP attended the arrival at his home of Adael Leyva Díaz, 29, who was serving a 13-year sentence.
Also to that of Ronald García Sánchez, 33 years old, sentenced to 14 years, and a resident of Díaz, in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, south of the capital.
Both participated in the historic anti-government protests that shook the island on July 11, 2021.
Leyva Díaz, who arrived on an electric tricycle, was received in the street by his relatives. As soon as he got out of the vehicle, he hugged and picked up his son. “I have you here, the suffering is over,” his mother Ivón Díaz told him as she hugged him.
The NGO Cubalex, based in Miami, said it has been able to verify the release of four other prisoners in the protests.
For its part, the NGO Justice 11J, which records arrests in Cuba related to the demonstrations, stated that as of this Friday there were at least 760 prisoners in the country for political reasons, including 358 who participated in the mobilizations.
The Catholic Church has acted for decades as a mediator and channel of dialogue between Cuba and the United States, and played a key role in the thaw of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2015, during the second term of Barack Obama (2013-2017).
On February 28, during a diplomatic tour of Europe, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez had an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
A week earlier, the Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher, had met with two American diplomats: the chargé d’affaires in Havana, Mike Hammer, and the ambassador to the Vatican, Brian Burch.
In late February, Trump said he was studying a “friendly takeover” of Cuba. “They don’t have money, they don’t have anything right now, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” he declared.
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