Cuba starts talks with US after three months of oil blockade - media

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has officially confirmed for the first time that his government is in talks with the Donald Trump administration after three months of a de facto oil embargo on the island.

In a statement cited by Cubadebate, he said that the contacts are aimed at finding solutions to bilateral differences through dialogue, identifying areas of cooperation to counter common threats and strengthen security in Latin America.

At the same time, the Cuban leader warned that the process is likely to take a long time.

The talks began amid unprecedented pressure from Washington. At the beginning of 2026, the United States effectively blocked oil supplies to Cuba from Venezuela, which provided up to 50% of the island's energy needs. Soon, under pressure from the Americans, Mexico stopped supplying oil.

At the end of January, Trump declared a state of emergency in the United States due to the threat to national security from Cuba and authorized additional duties on imports of goods from countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to the island. All this has caused a severe fuel crisis in Cuba.

The Atlantic's White House sources have previously said that Cuba could be Trump's "next target after Iran and Venezuela."

According to the Ukrainian News agency, the US president has suggested the possibility of a "friendly takeover" of the island if Havana rejects the deal with Washington.

At the same time, according to sources from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, the White House has developed a plan for gradual regime change. As part of this plan, Trump wants to make Cuba financially dependent on the United States, taking the place of the Soviet Union, which supported the island until 1991.