Miguel Díaz-Canel granted an interview this Thursday to the host of "Meet the Press" from NBC News, Kristen Welker, making him the first Cuban leader to appear on American television in decades, during a time of significant political and economic pressure from Washington on Havana.
The scoop was announced by political editor Ted Johnson from Deadline. The interview, he stated, was recorded this morning in Cuba, and the first segment will air today at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) on "Meet the Press NOW" and "NBC Nightly News", with additional coverage throughout the week on "Today" and "NBC News Now".
An extended version will air on Sunday on "Meet the Press" and the full interview will be available at NBCNews.com.
The historical significance of this moment is exceptional. The last time a Cuban leader appeared on that same program was in 1959, when Fidel Castro was interviewed during his first visit to Washington D.C. following the victory of the Cuban Revolution.
The interview takes place against a backdrop of unprecedented pressure from the Trump administration, which since January 2026 has imposed over 240 new sanctions, signed Executive Order 14380 declaring the Cuban regime an "extraordinary threat" to national security, and blocked the supply of Venezuelan oil to the island following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
On March 16, Trump declared from Air Force One: "we will make a deal very soon, or we will do what we have to do", and referred to Cuba as a "very weakened nation" while speaking about "taking over" the country.
The interview with NBC News is not the first engagement by Díaz-Canel with U.S. media during this period of tension.
Last Tuesday, Newsweek published an interview with the Cuban leader that made the cover of its April 2 edition under the headline "WE WILL FIGHT BACK," in which Díaz-Canel stated that the island would respond with a guerrilla warfare strategy if a military intervention were to occur.
Leticia Martínez Hernández, press chief of Díaz-Canel, confirmed on social media that this interview was "the first (already published) with a U.S. media outlet" and anticipated that "more will come," thus hinting at appearances in NBC News and, apparently, other media outlets.
This media outreach by the regime towards U.S. media comes as the State Department confirmed on Wednesday that it maintains contacts with Cuba at the highest level, although Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal described them as "very initial" and lacking formal structured negotiation.
Kristen Welker had already achieved another journalistic milestone during this tumultuous regional period. She was the first correspondent from a television network to enter Venezuela following Maduro's ousting, where she interviewed interim president Delcy Rodríguez and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
Cuba is experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades, with daily deficits exceeding 1,800 MW, power outages lasting up to 24 hours, and an economy that has contracted by 23% since 2019. This context frames the regime's decision to seek visibility in major U.S. media, particularly as it is reported that Washington is conditioning any progress in negotiations on the departure of Díaz-Canel from power.
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