Cuban president says Raul Castro involved in US talks amid oil blockade

The talks come amid increasing tensions with the US after Trump said he would be ‘honoured’ to take over Cuba.

Former Cuban President Raul Castro is involved in talks between the island and the United States, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said, amid soaring tensions between the two states.

Diaz-Canel on Wednesday said the talks were in the early stages, as nationwide blackouts continued from an oil blockade implemented by US President Donald Trump.

The announcement, in a videotaped interview with Diaz-Canel shared by state media, comes after Trump last week said he would have “the honour of taking Cuba” soon.

The Cuban president predicted that any process that leads to an agreement would be lengthy.

“First, we must build a channel for dialogue. Then, we must build common agendas of interests for the parties, and the parties must demonstrate their intention to move forward and truly commit to the program based on the discussion of those agendas,” he said.

Castro “is one of those who, along with me and in collaboration with other branches of the [Communist] Party, the government, and the State, has guided how we should conduct this dialogue process, if this dialogue process takes place,” he added.

Though Diaz-Canel became president in 2018, the 94-year-old revolutionary leader, a brother of Fidel Castro, is still considered the most powerful person in the nation.

Raul Castro, who served as president for a decade until 2018, led historic talks with former US President Barack Obama in 2014 that led to the reopening of embassies and re-establishment of diplomatic relations.

In late January, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba as he pushed for a change in the island’s political model.

Although the initial threats were formally softened, the embargo remains in place. The island has not received any fuel shipments for three months.

Prolonged power outages and a near-paralysis of economic and social life are the visible consequences on the island, which in the last week experienced two nationwide blackouts that left millions without electricity as Cuba’s power grid continues to crumble.

Francisco Pichon, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, warned of a “humanitarian crisis” if the situation continues to spiral.

Pichon and other officials said $94m were needed to address the energy crisis and hurricane damage from last year.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned last month of a humanitarian “collapse”.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said the health situation in Cuba was “deeply concerning” as the delivery of health services is in peril.