A senior State Department official met with Cuban government representatives in Havana last week, marking a renewed diplomatic push between the United States and Cuba even as President Donald Trump has threatened military intervention and Cuba’s government has said it is prepared to fight back. The delegation urged Cuba to make major economic and political changes, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity, as tensions over the island nation’s governance have intensified. It was the first U.S. government flight to land in Cuba outside the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay since 2016.
The diplomatic talks represent engagement and pressure working in tandem, with the Trump administration combining negotiations over political and economic reforms with explicit military threats.
The Diplomatic Mission
The senior State Department official met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of retired Cuban leader Raúl Castro, according to department officials who were not authorized to comment publicly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was not part of the delegation that visited Havana, according to a second U.S. official. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime Cuba hawk, met the younger Castro in the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis in February.
During this diplomatic push, first reported by Axios, the U.S. delegation urged Cuba to make major changes to its economy and way of governing, saying the administration would not tolerate the island nation becoming a national security threat in the region, according to the State Department official. The U.S. demands included an end to political repression, a release of political prisoners, and a liberalization of the island’s ailing economy. The sides also discussed a U.S. proposal to provide free and reliable internet to the island through a Starlink satellite connection.
Trump’s Strategy and Threats
Trump said earlier this week that his administration could focus on Cuba after the war in Iran ends. “We may stop by Cuba after we finish with this,” he said. He described the island as a “failing nation” and asserted that it has “been a terribly run country for a long time.”
Cuba’s Defiant Response
In response, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the U.S. has no valid reason to carry out a military attack or attempt to depose him, but that the country was ready to fight back if needed. “The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,” Díaz-Canel said during a rally commemorating the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist essence.
Leverage and Pressure
Cuba’s economic crisis has deepened following a U.S. energy blockade. The Trump administration has described Cuba’s government as ineffective and abusive. The diplomatic talks represent an effort to leverage economic pressure and the threat of military action to push for changes in Cuba’s governance.