Cuban response came after, without specifying, the US president suggested that the Caribbean island ‘close an agreement before it is too late’
The president of , Miguel Díaz-Canel, stated this Monday (12) that his government is not in negotiations with the , one day after the North American president, , threatened the Caribbean island in response to the US attack on .
Díaz-Canel published a series of brief statements on social media after Trump suggested that Cuba “close a deal before it’s too late.” The American president did not specify what type of agreement he would be proposing.
According to Díaz-Canel, for “relations between the US and Cuba to progress, they must be based on international law, and not on hostility, threats and economic coercion.”
“We have always been willing to maintain a serious and responsible dialogue with the various US governments, including the current one, based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, the principles of International Law and mutual benefit, without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for our independence”, he added.
The Cuban president’s statements were republished by the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez.
On Sunday (11), Trump wrote that Cuba would no longer live off oil and money from Venezuela, a country that the US attacked on January 3 in a surprise operation that killed 32 Cuban officers and led to the arrest of the dictator.
Before the American attack, Cuba received around 35,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela, in addition to approximately 5,500 barrels per day from and around 7,500 from , according to Jorge Piñón, from the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, who monitors the shipments.
Even with shipments of Venezuelan oil, widespread blackouts persist in Cuba due to fuel shortages and the precariousness of the electrical grid. Experts fear that the lack of oil will further worsen the multiple crises facing the island.
The situation between the U.S. and Cuba is “very sad and worrying,” said Andy S. Gómez, retired dean of the School of International Studies and senior fellow in Cuban Studies at the University of Miami.
According to him, Díaz-Canel’s comments represent “an attempt to buy a little time for the inner circle to decide what measures it will take.” Gómez stated that he does not imagine Cuba seeking contact with American authorities at this time. “They had every opportunity when the president [Barack] Obama opened diplomatic relations with the US, and yet they didn’t even offer a Cuban coffee,” he said. “It’s clear that Cuba is going through desperate times.”
Michael Galant, senior research and extension associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., said he believes Cuba may be willing to negotiate. “Cuba has shown interest in finding ways to ease sanctions,” he said. “It’s not that Cuba isn’t cooperating.”
Galant assessed that topics of discussion could include migration and security, adding that Trump does not appear to be in a hurry. “Trump expects to worsen the economic crisis on the island, and there is no great cost to Trump in waiting for this to be resolved,” he said. “I don’t think it’s likely that there will be any drastic action in the next few days because there is no rush to get to the negotiating table.”
The Cuban president reiterated on social media that “there are no negotiations with the US government, except for technical contacts in the area of migration.”
The island’s communist government said US sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nícolas Robert
