By Juan Antonio Palop Martínez
Havana (EFE).- The dialogue between Washington and Havana appeared to be stalled on Monday, with both capitals leaking substantially different information about their contacts and the United States’ threat of possible military action on the island.
Cuban authorities confirmed for the first time the holding of a meeting between representatives of both governments on the island, days after the meeting was leaked in three US media outlets (Axios, The New York Times, and USA Today) all citing anonymous sources.
«I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the US was recently held here in Cuba,» Alejandro García del Toro, Deputy Director General for the US at the Foreign Ministry, told the official newspaper Granma.
However, the account of that meeting differs significantly between the US and Cuban versions, the latter coming through García del Toro and the interpretation of the digital outlet Razones de Cuba, which is close to the island’s Ministry of the Interior.
The information coming from the US, generally complementary and consistent, suggests that Washington demanded the Cuban side release prominent political prisoners, including dissident artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo, within two weeks.
The aforementioned, they argued, would be an initial gesture of good will. It would then be followed by a list of demands, essentially deep economic and political reforms.
In response, the Cuban diplomat indicated that no «deadlines» or «coercive demands» were established in the meeting.
Razones de Cuba denied that dialogue can proceed with «conditions» and asserts the island’s «sovereignty,» «without blackmail, without conditions»: «No US official is going to dictate deadlines from a table in Havana.»
«What (the Cuban government) rejects is having political or economic reforms imposed as a requirement,» the Razones de Cuba text argued.
García del Toro also reported that the Cuban side insisted on «the elimination of the energy siege against the country,» a «topic of maximum priority,» referring to the oil embargo imposed by Washington on the island since January.
The Axios outlet claimed that Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former president Raúl Castro, participated in the bilateral meeting. He was previously reported to have been key in initiating these dialogues.
According to Granma, which did not provide names, «assistant secretaries of the State Department» participated on the US side, while Cuba was represented «at the level of deputy foreign minister.»
EFE has requested clarification from the Cuban government and the US embassy in Havana regarding this meeting, its participants, and its content, but has not yet received a response.
The military option
US reports also consistently indicate that US President Donald Trump prefers the diplomatic route with Cuba but does not rule out military intervention if Havana does not make a move on his timeline.
In this regard, Trump avoided answering when questioned about reports last week that assured the US Department of War was finalizing plans for a possible military intervention in Cuba.
The president, however, spoke on Friday of the «great strength» of the US military in relation to its operations in Iran and ventured that this could bring a «new dawn» in Cuba «very soon.»
Meanwhile, on the island, authorities fueled bellicose and triumphant rhetoric in recent days, bringing their victory against the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, carried out by Cuban exiles supported by the US, into the current context, on its 65th anniversary.
«Against any aggression, as in Girón (Bay of Pigs), we will win,» affirmed Roberto Morales Ojeda, secretary of organization of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, the only legal party), at a commemorative event.
Days earlier, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel urged Cubans to «be ready» for a US invasion. «We don’t want it, but it is our duty to prepare to prevent it and, if it were inevitable, to win it,» he said.
The Cuban president signed a declaration on Sunday assuring that «the Cuban revolution will never negotiate its principles,» an open document for a signature collection across the island aimed at galvanizing internal support and closing ranks.
The US began pressuring Cuba, demanding political and economic reforms, following its military intervention in Venezuela, which culminated in the capture of that country’s former president, Nicolás Maduro (2013- 2026). Washington has blocked the entry of oil to the island since January, severely exacerbating an already critical economic and social situation.
Díaz-Canel acknowledged the start of contacts between Cuba and the US on Mar. 13, weeks after Trump declared that they were negotiating. EFE
jpm/dmv/dgp
