The president Donald Trump stated this Friday that Cuba "is a failed nation, completely failed" and that the regime in Havana "is going to have to come to us" to negotiate an agreement, in response to journalists' questions regarding the CIA director's visit to Cuba that took place on Thursday.
The statement comes a day after John Ratcliffe, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, arrived in Havana during the first visit by a U.S. official of such high rank since 2016, conveying the message that Washington is willing to engage in dialogue, but only if Cuba makes "fundamental changes".
"I believe we are going to succeed. Marco has been very effective. The whole group has been very effective. I think they will have to come to us. It is a failed nation. It is completely a failed nation. And they are accepting aid now. They want help. They need help," stated Trump.
The president also noted that he has been hearing about Cuba "since he was a young child," and he responded with optimism when a journalist asked him if the island would come closer to the United States to finalize a deal.
The same journalist noted that China, which had a plan to build 92 solar parks in Cuba by 2028, would no longer be involved in those projects, a fact that Trump used as an argument to suggest that the Cuban regime has nowhere else to turn.
The Cuban regime confirmed the meeting with Ratcliffe in a statement from the Communist Party, indicating that Washington requested the meeting and that the "Leadership of the Revolution" approved it. Among the Cuban interlocutors were Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "Raulito," Lázaro Álvarez Casas, and Ramón Romero Curbelo.
The backdrop of these conversations is the worst energy crisis that Cuba has experienced in decades. The Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, admitted on Friday that the island "has absolutely no fuel, no diesel, only associated gas".
Venezuela suspended oil shipments to Cuba in November 2025, Mexico reduced its supplies in January 2026, and a Russian shipment of approximately 730,000 barrels that arrived on March 31 was depleted by early May.
The electricity generation deficit exceeded 2,000 MW on several days in May, with outages lasting up to 22 hours in Havana and 24 hours in eastern provinces.
The Trump administration re-added Cuba to the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in February 2025, and according to Bloomberg, frustration is growing in the White House over the lack of concrete changes despite the accumulated pressure.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been unequivocal about the conditions for any progress: "Their system of government must change."
Trump himself had posted last Tuesday on Truth Social: "Cuba is asking for help, and we're going to talk!", setting the tone for the conditional opening that characterized Ratcliffe's visit and his own statements this Friday.
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