Cuba has confirmed that it is holding talks with representatives of the Trump administration to seek "solutions" to bilateral disputes, publicly acknowledging a sensitive diplomatic channel days after Raul Castro's grandson admitted in an interview that he was open to negotiating directly with President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said Thursday that conversations had taken place "with representatives of the United States government, aimed at seeking solutions, through dialogue, to bilateral differences." He described the channel as "very sensitive" and said the officials managing it had the authorization and support of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Marrero offered no details about the participants, agenda or progress of the discussions, and the White House has not publicly commented on his remarks, as Demócrata reports. He said every step taken by the Cuban government was intended to defend "the Revolution and our sovereignty," while warning against what he described as attempts to sow division and distrust.
His comments came days after the aforementioned USA Today interview with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the 42-year-old grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Although Rodríguez Castro does not hold a senior political office, the newspaper reported that he is a colonel in Cuba's Interior Ministry and has participated in contacts involving Washington.
"I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S.," Rodríguez Castro told the outlet. Asked whether that included Trump, he replied that it would if given the opportunity. He also said Havana could consider releasing political prisoners under certain conditions but insisted Cuba would not abandon the principles of the 1959 revolution.
The public acknowledgment of talks comes as relations remain strained by U.S. sanctions and fuel restrictions. Last month, Cuba announced a package of economic reforms aimed at expanding private investment and introducing elements of the Chinese and Vietnamese economic models in an effort to ease the country's economic crisis.
The diplomatic opening also follows a sharp exchange between Washington and Havana at the United Nations this week. As Al Jazeera reported, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the United States of imposing "collective punishment" through its sanctions and fuel restrictions during a General Assembly debate on the U.S. embargo.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz rejected the accusations, arguing that Cuba's economic crisis stemmed from the government's own policies rather than U.S. sanctions.
.jpg?w=600)
