The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, stated this Thursday that the Cuban economy is “probably in worse condition than the Iranian economy” and confirmed that Washington is in talks with the Havana regime to explore potential changes in the bilateral relationship.
The statements were made during a press conference at the White House, just hours after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran in France. When asked by reporters whether Cuba could become "the next" priority of U.S. foreign policy, Vance ended up providing one of the most direct assessments from the Trump administration regarding the situation on the island.
"Fundamentally, in Cuba there is a system that has not worked. They cannot generate wealth. Its economy is, frankly, probably in worse shape than the Iranian economy," he stated.
The vice president also linked the Cuban economic crisis to a persistent concern for Washington: the migration flows to the United States.
"It's just 90 miles from our shores, so every time there’s a crisis, we end up having desperate refugees or people who can't feed their families trying to reach our country en masse," he noted.
Beyond his criticisms of the Cuban economic model, Vance revealed that both sides maintain active diplomatic contacts, a statement that represents one of the highest-level public confirmations so far regarding the existence of conversations between Washington and Havana.
"In fact, we are currently speaking with the Cuban government about how they could change their approach to transform that situation," he stated.
The vice president made it clear that the Trump administration's stance continues to condition any improvement in bilateral relations on changes from the Cuban regime.
"If they do one thing, we will do another. If they make smart decisions, we will have a much better relationship with that island," he stated.
The statements come amid a deep economic crisis in Cuba. Various international organizations and analytical centers project new contractions for the island's economy in 2026, in a scenario marked by prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages, difficulties in importing food and medicine, and a sustained decline in productive activity.
The energy situation continues to be one of the main challenges for the country. Several provinces have reported power outages of more than 20 hours a day, while supply issues persist, affecting both the population and strategic sectors of the economy.
In recent months, various analysts have warned about the accelerating deterioration of economic conditions on the island. Cuban economist Pedro Monreal recently pointed out that, under certain scenarios, the decline in gross domestic product could be even deeper than official forecasts.
The conversations between Washington and Havana do not seem to have produced significant progress thus far. At the end of May, the Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josefina Vidal, publicly acknowledged that “there has not been much progress” in the contacts between both governments.
For his part, Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated in April that Cuba will not accept negotiations related to changes in the country's political system, insisting that the island's internal matters "are not on the table."
According to various reports, among the topics discussed during these contacts are the situation of political prisoners, possible economic reforms, Cuba's relations with Russia and China, and immigration issues affecting hundreds of thousands of Cubans residing in the United States.
Despite the criticisms directed at the Cuban regime, Vance assured that the ultimate goal of U.S. policy remains to improve the living conditions of the island's population.
"We want the Cuban people to be happy and successful," he concluded.
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