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Two Democratic representatives from the United States Congress who traveled to Cuba to observe the humanitarian situation on the island confirmed that there is contact between both governments, but a formal negotiation cannot yet be said to be underway.
Democratic congress members Pramila Jayapal from Washington and Jonathan Jackson from Illinois met with the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and members of the Cuban Parliament during a five-day visit to the island, the first documented trip by U.S. lawmakers in 2026.
In an interview given to the YouTube channel Belly of the Beast from Havana, both lawmakers agreed that Cuba and the United States are maintaining contacts, but emphasized that the challenge is to move towards a more structured process.
"We can talk to Russia, we can talk to China. Of course, we can talk to the Cubans. We need to expedite that," they asserted, while advocating for the need to replace confrontation with direct dialogue between governments.
In that regard, they pointed out that there are conditions for an approach, considering that “there is a negotiation and real dialogue, government to government, that can occur instead of war, sanctions, and blockades,” as well as concrete opportunities for cooperation in areas such as health, agriculture, and trade.
When asked about the scope of these contacts, Jayapal specified —according to statements collected by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada— that these are still early-stage approaches.
"There has been dialogue or at least, I believe there are the beginnings of a dialogue," he expressed. "I don't think we have reached the stage of negotiation that was mentioned to us, but I do believe there is a desire to ensure that there is a real negotiation, that a discussion and negotiation take place."
They also emphasized that the Cuban government has repeatedly expressed its willingness to engage in discussions with the United States, and noted that even within the U.S. Congress there is beginning to be a greater openness to reevaluate the policy towards the island.
Díaz-Canel published photos on X from the meeting with the congress members and stated that they discussed the impact of U.S. sanctions and the threats of even more aggressive actions from the Trump administration.
He reiterated his government's commitment to maintaining a "serious and responsible" bilateral dialogue and to addressing the outstanding issues to move towards a potential negotiation, in what some consider a new moment to redefine relations between the two countries.
The legislators indicated that upon their return to Washington, they will draft a report on the visit and continue working on initiatives in the House of Representatives aimed at lifting the sanctions against the island.
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