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The Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez announced that his country is willing to serve as a venue to facilitate a rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, in a statement that marked the beginning of the 56th General Assembly of the OAS in Panama City.
“Panama has offered to host a dialogue between Cuba and the United States based on equality and mutual respect,” the minister stated during the press conference preceding the start of the hemispheric forum, which is taking place at the Bolívar Palace from June 22 to June 24.
Regarding the conversations with Miguel Díaz-Canel and Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the Panamanian foreign minister stated that Cuba was willing to discuss all topics, simply under conditions of equality.
"It is a bilateral relationship, where things take place that neither you nor I are aware of, and we do hope that between the willingness of the Cuban government to engage in discussions based on equality and the willingness of the American government to also remain in dialogue, we can find solutions through peaceful coexistence and emotional understanding," he emphasized, as reported by the press in the Central American country.
The representative of Panamanian diplomacy detailed that "Panama offered to be a country where this dialogue could take place. The Cubans accepted, the United States has not accepted, but they do see it as a possibility. Simply by taking action, we can encourage dialogue to culminate in an understanding of concessions that allow Cuban society to progress toward 21st-century advancement, towards economic openness and indeed towards a political process that gradually meets the interests of the Cubans," he stated.
A proposal without a concrete agenda, but with political weight
The chancellor did not specify whether Havana or Washington has responded to the offer, nor did he reveal any agenda for formal talks.
Nonetheless, the statement publicly introduces the possibility that Panama could serve as a neutral ground in one of the most contentious bilateral ties in the hemisphere.
Martínez-Acha advocated for a diplomacy aimed at “promoting understanding and fostering gradual solutions” that favor regional stability, and summarized his vision with a straightforward phrase: “Let us move forward in what unites us.”
The context is significant. In January 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring the situation with Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security of the United States, and on May 1, he enacted executive order 14404 imposing new sanctions on entities and officials of the regime, including the Ministry of Armed Forces.
Despite this tightening, in March 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel himself confirmed that there were contacts in "initial phases" between Cuban officials and U.S. representatives to explore solutions.
Trump, for his part, claimed that an agreement with Cuba could be reached "very soon."
Seven Panamanians remain imprisoned in Villa Marista
The offer of mediation cannot be separated from a diplomatic crisis that Panama has been experiencing since February 28, 2026, when ten Panamanian citizens were detained in Havana on charges of propaganda against the constitutional order, with sentences that can reach up to eight years in prison.
The regime authorities linked them to political graffiti that included phrases such as "Down with the tyranny," "Communism: enemy of the community," and "We trust in Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Mike Hammer."
The chancellor traveled to Cuba on March 25 and met with Díaz-Canel and his counterpart Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
As a result of those efforts, three Panamanian women were released on April 25: Evelyn Castro, Cinthia del Carmen Camarena, and Abigail Sthefany Gudiño.
The remaining seven men are held at Villa Marista, headquarters of the Cuban State Security: Víctor Manuel Pinzón Cedeño, Anthony Williams Jules Pérez, Omar Gilberto Urriola Vergara, Maykol Jesús Pérez Almendra, Adalberto Antonio Navarro Asprilla, Patrochiny Jerodady Joseph Arisarena, and José Luis Aguirre Baruco.
Venezuela and the regional landscape
In the same forum, Martínez-Acha reiterated that Panama recognizes Edmundo González as the elected president of Venezuela, and called for conditions for his regional reintegration.
"To ensure Venezuela is integrated into the Latin American community, it must have a government supported by the ballots," he stated.
The 56th OAS Assembly brings together in Panama 34 ministers and deputy ministers, six secretaries general of international organizations, and 55 special envoys, along with the presidents of Guatemala and Honduras and the vice president of El Salvador.
Whether the Panamanian offer leads to real conversations will depend on whether Havana and Washington decide to sit at the same table, something that neither government has confirmed as of this Monday.
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