The president Donald Trump confirmed this Tuesday that negotiations between Washington and Havana have reached an advanced stage.
"Cuba is talking to Marco Rubio, we will do something very soon", stated Trump, according to journalist Agustín Antonetti, in what represents the most direct signal so far regarding the imminence of a possible agreement.
The statement comes a day after Trump claimed from the White House that Cuba is a "failed nation" and that "they are talking to us."
Trump stated that he will have the honor of taking Cuba, adding phrases that generated significant impact: "If I free it, I will take it. I believe I can do whatever I want with it."
This Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke decisively about the situation of the Cuban regime. "The bottom line is that their economy doesn't work. It is a non-functional economy," he stated.
Rubio stated that the regime needs new leadership, indicating that the people in charge do not know how to solve the country's problems.
According to reports from Politico and Axios, Rubio has held at least half a dozen meetings with Cuban representatives, including Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "Raulito" or "El Cangrejo," the grandson of Raúl Castro.
The conversations have deliberately avoided the official channels of the Communist Party and Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Díaz-Canel himself confirmed last Friday the existence of these discussions during a meeting of the Political Bureau.
Díaz-Canel described the conversations with the U.S. as a "first phase" to establish a bilateral agenda, comparing them to the diplomatic thaw of the Obama era.
Trump amplified the confirmation of dialogue with the U.S., emphasizing that the regime had previously denied any contact.
According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is pushing for the expulsion of Díaz-Canel as a key condition for any agreement, leaving Havana to carry out that step in exchange for relief from sanctions and economic opening.
The backdrop to these negotiations is the severe crisis that Cuba is experiencing.
After the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States in January and the subsequent cutoff of Venezuelan oil supplies, the island has gone more than three months without receiving fuel from Venezuela.
Cuba experienced a complete collapse of its electrical system this Monday, marking the sixth nationwide blackout in a year and a half, with a total disconnection of the National Electric System that left the entire country without electricity.
The regime made some initial concessions during the talks: the release of 51 prisoners after a dialogue with the Vatican and the authorization for the FBI to investigate an incident involving a boat coming from Florida.
A senior official in the Trump administration described the contacts as "discussions about the future" and "surprisingly friendly." Trump is negotiating an economic agreement with Cuba that would include relief from sanctions according to previous reports.
This week, Jorge Mas Santos, president of the Cuban American National Foundation, met with Trump and Rubio at the White House.
Mas Santos announced that the day of freedom for Cuba is approaching after the meeting, sending a message full of hope for the Cuban community in exile.
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