The journalist Jorge Legañoa, a regular spokesman for the Cuban regime on Canal Caribe, disseminated an analysis in which he categorically denied the existence of negotiations between Havana and Washington, describing the reports of "secret negotiations" as part of a "media campaign" aimed at "confusing, dividing, and demobilizing" the Cuban population.
The refusal comes three days after President Donald Trump stated last Saturday at the Summit of the Americas held in Miami that Cuba "is eager to reach an agreement" and that the regime is already in direct contact with Washington. "They are negotiating with Marco and me, and with some others," Trump declared, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The president joked that Rubio could finalize an agreement with Cuba "in a free hour."
Legañoa acknowledged the historical willingness of the Cuban government to engage in dialogue, but set firm conditions: "Historically, the Cuban government has shown readiness for dialogue with the government of the United States, but without any underhanded dealings, in a serious and responsible manner, based on respect for sovereignty and international law." The journalist also criticized what he referred to as a combined pressure strategy: "Aggressiveness from Washington, blaming us for what they provoke, and manipulation regarding the supposed dialogue to which we are open with transparency and on equal terms."
The Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío had previously acknowledged only "informal message exchanges" with the U.S., dismissing the possibility of dialogue tables or transition agreements, and excluding topics such as the Constitution, the economy, or the socialist system from any discussions. Meanwhile, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, the Cuban representative to the UN, rejected the reports of contacts between Rubio and Cuban officials.
The backdrop of this narrative dispute is the severe energy crisis that the island is experiencing. The capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3 by U.S. forces cut the Venezuelan supply of between 26,000 and 35,000 barrels of oil per day, in a country that consumes approximately 100,000 barrels daily and only produces one-third of its needs. Cuba is suffering from blackouts lasting over 15 hours daily and a critical shortage of food and medicine.
Under that pressure, Trump signed the January 29 Executive Order 14380, declaring a national emergency and threatening tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba. Although the U.S. Supreme Court declared those tariffs illegal on February 20, the national emergency remains in effect. On February 25, the Trump administration also announced it would allow the sale of U.S. petroleum products directly to private Cuban companies, bypassing the embargo on the state, in a strategy that analysts have termed "Cubastroika".
Díaz-Canel described the executive order as "fascist, criminal, and genocidal" and labeled the Summit of the Americas as "neocolonial". Mariela Castro, daughter of Raúl Castro, was more direct: "With the United States, there is only room for dialogue, never negotiation". Trump, for his part, left no room for ambiguity when he warned that Cuba "can be a friendly acquisition, or it may not be".
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