Tensions rise over Venezuela, but Cuba and the US have begun to communicate

Cuba and the United States are communicating with each other, although the exchange of views has not yet developed into a formal dialogue. This was stated to Reuters by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.

According to him, the US government is aware that Cuba is ready for "serious, meaningful, and responsible dialogue." Relations deteriorated in January after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a close ally of Havana.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US had begun talks with "the highest representatives of Cuba" and expressed his belief that an agreement was possible. Just a few days earlier, however, he had described Cuba as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to US national security and threatened to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to the island.

Tensions have further intensified with US efforts to block fuel supplies to Cuba, including oil from Venezuela. According to available information, this has contributed to rising food and transport prices, severe fuel shortages, and hourly power outages, even in Havana.

On Monday, Trump announced that Mexico would stop supplying oil to Cuba. De Cossio expressed doubts about the long-term sustainability of this pressure: "Does every country in the world accept that the US will tell them who they can export their national products to?"

(reuters, max)