13/03/2026 – 15:58 GMT+1
Hours earlier, Cuba announced the forthcoming release of 51 prisoners, in what Havana said was a gesture of goodwill.
Cuba held recent talks with Washington to resolve bilateral differences, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday, marking the first time Havana has officially acknowledged contacts between the two governments.
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The announcement came as Cuba faces a severe energy crisis, causing widespread blackouts and fuel shortages across the island.
Díaz-Canel said the talks aimed at “finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations” but provided no details about the content or participants.
He blamed what he called a US “energy blockade” for the lack of oil supplies, saying no shipments have reached the island in the past three months.
Fuel shortages have caused widespread power cuts, particularly in western Cuba, affecting millions of people. Díaz-Canel acknowledged the impact on the economy and basic services is severe.
“The impact is tremendous,” he said, detailing problems in transport, communications and health care, with thousands of surgeries postponed.
Díaz-Canel said the contacts aim to assess “the willingness of both sides to take concrete actions for the benefit of the peoples of both countries” and to identify possible areas of cooperation based on respect for Cuban sovereignty.
Hours earlier, Cuba announced the forthcoming release of 51 prisoners. The foreign ministry said the move was in a spirit of goodwill and in response to relations with the Vatican.
The government did not identify who it would release or whether political prisoners would be among them, except to say that “all have served a significant part of their sentence and have maintained good conduct in prison.”
The organisation Prisoners Defenders estimates there were more than 1,200 political prisoners in Cuba at the beginning of 2026.
