By Chris Summers
Contributing Writer
Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday that the island’s communist regime has held talks with the United States.
The announcement comes after Cuba said it would release 51 people from prison, a decision it attributed to its relationship with the Vatican.
Díaz-Canel said the talks with the United States “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges.”
He said the talks were based on Cuba’s “sovereignty and self-determination.”
Díaz-Canel said the aim was “to determine the willingness of both parties to take concrete actions for the benefit of the people of both countries.”
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said that Cuban officials are discussing a deal with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He also predicted that an agreement could be reached easily.
Speaking at his Shield of the Americas gathering of Latin American leaders in Miami, Trump said Cuba is “at the end of the line” because Venezuela cut off oil deliveries after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Following the capture of Maduro on Jan. 3, Trump has persuaded Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodríguez, to stop oil and gas exports to Cuba, and then put pressure on Mexico to choke off its supplies.
Last year, Venezuela was Cuba’s largest oil supplier, providing the Caribbean nation with 26,500 barrels per day, roughly one-third of Cuba’s daily needs. Mexico came in second, with 5,000 barrels per day.
Could Cuba Follow Venezuela?
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” Trump said. “They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time.”
Monday, Trump suggested the regime in Havana could either submit and agree to the restoration of democracy or be removed forcibly.
“It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover,” Trump said.
The White House has also suggested it will turn its attention to Cuba as soon as the conflict with Iran is over.
“This dialogue is essential,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday.
Sheinbaum declined to say if Mexico had been involved in diplomatic moves to get the talks going, but said, “Let’s say we’ve promoted dialogue with both U.S. and Cuban authorities.”
“Mexico will continue to support the Cuban people in every way possible,” Sheinbaum added.
Díaz-Canel, 65, took over as Cuba’s leader in 2021, following the resignation of 89-year-old Raúl Castro, whose brother Fidel led the communist regime until 2011, and died five years later.
Last month, Díaz-Canel went on national television and acknowledged the impact of Trump’s actions and called for “unity.”
Díaz-Canel has said Cuba has received no petroleum shipments in the past three months, and the island’s western region was hit by a complete power outage last week, leaving millions without power.
He said the shortage of fuel oil and diesel meant two power plants had to shut down.
Power outages have affected education, communications and transportation, as well as hospitals, and tens of thousands of people have had surgeries cancelled, Díaz-Canel said.
“The impact is tremendous,” the Cuban leader said. “Without energy, no country can produce at normal levels. All of this has meant making adjustments to employment.”
He revealed that more than 115 bakeries had switched to burning firewood or coal.
Díaz-Canel said Cuba was running on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric energy.
He added that 955 solar panels had been installed in homes in the countryside, and more solar farms would come online before the end of the month, which could add 100 megawatts to Cuba’s electricity grid.
“Even with everything we’re putting together, we still need oil.”
The Trump administration and the Vatican have both been putting pressure on Cuba to release prisoners.
In January 2025, Cuba released prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer, following talks with the Vatican.
Ferrer left Cuba in October and now lives in the United States.
The nonprofit Prisoners Defenders said that, as of February 2026, there were still 1,214 political prisoners in Cuba.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
