STORY: Cuba has opened talks with the U.S. government, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday (March 13), amid a severe economic crisis and as the Communist government has come under increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Cuba is suffering from hours-long power blackouts and fuel shortages exacerbated by Trump's imposition of an oil blockade on the Caribbean island.

Since the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and removed from power Cuba's most important foreign benefactor in January, Trump has cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened to slap tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba.

Trump in recent weeks had made a series of statements, saying Cuba was on the verge of collapse or eager to make a deal with the United States. On Monday he said Cuba may be subject to a "friendly takeover," then added, "it may not be a friendly takeover."

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Cuba says it has opened talks with U.S. amid oil blockade

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: HAVANA, CUBA (MARCH 13, 2026) (CUBA GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

1. CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL SPEAKING

2. MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT LISTENING

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING (SOUNDBITE RUNS OVER SHOT OF REPORTER):

"Let's talk about what has changed, for example, from the moment I explained in the previous address up to now in relation to this situation which, as you rightly defined, has worsened over the last two weeks, particularly. Well, first of all, no fuel has entered the country for three months. Therefore, we are generating electricity during daytime hours with domestic crude and our thermoelectric plants. And also with the contribution from renewable energy sources, which is considerable, and as we've said before, has been running between 49 and 51%."

4. VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"Before last week, we still had certain available supplies of fuel oil and diesel that we were using at two key sites for the national electric power system: the distributed generation engines we have in Moa, and an engine system we have in Mariel. Three months without any incoming fuel, diesel runs out and fuel oil runs out. Therefore, a considerable number of megawatts that we were generating, especially for peak hours and nighttime hours, drop out of that generation system and put the system in a situation of great instability."

6. JOURNALISTS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"And I'm not saying this in the sense of not understanding the discontent, because I do understand it—but it bothers me, or I regret, that there are people who, in the midst of this discontent that we acknowledge is legitimate, respond by insulting the revolution, insulting the government, or insulting the electric institution. Because the fault is not the government's, the fault is not the revolution's, the fault is not our national electric power system. The revolution, the government, the workers are making an effort to overcome the impossible. The fault lies with the energy blockade that has been imposed on us."

8. ATTENDEES AT PRESS CONFERENCE

9. GRANDSON OF FORMER PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO, RAUL GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ CASTRO, “EL CANGREJO,” (IN BLUE SHIRT) AMONG ATTENDEES