Bruno Rodriguez Says Cuba-US Negotiations Show No Progress Amid US Maximum Pressure

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Tuesday that “The discussions between the Cuban and US governments are showing no progress,” as months of negotiations with the United States stalled amid what Havana described as maximum pressure on the island.

“Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has described negotiations with the United States as hitting a wall, with no breakthroughs made towards ending sanctions against the Caribbean island”

Al Jazeera

Rodriguez told a press conference that “despite all that” Havana “will remain open to dialogue,” even as relations between Havana and Washington hit “a fresh nadir.”

Al Jazeera

The stalemate comes after a US sanctions escalation earlier this year, including a strict fuel blockade that Cuba said crippled its electrical grid, decimated tourism, and triggered a severe domestic energy crisis.

Cuba also linked the diplomatic impasse to rising security risk, with Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal warning that the risk of outright US military aggression is growing as Washington “fabricates pretexts to portray Cuba as a national security threat.”

Rodriguez used Tuesday’s press conference to accuse the US State Department of actively “pressuring and intimidating” United Nations member states to delay an upcoming July 7 floor debate regarding the decades-long US trade embargo.

In the same remarks, he said the “conduct of US government delegations — generally respectful — has been accompanied by constant threats against Cuba,” alongside “the application of coercive measures” and “offensive statements regarding our country’s independence.”

Euronews

Euronews reported that Cuba confirmed a meeting with American officials on Cuban soil for the first time since 2016, with Deputy Foreign Minister Alejandro García del Toro saying the “elimination of the energy embargo against the country was an absolute priority.”

Euronews also said the United States maintains conditions for lifting sanctions that include the release of political prisoners, the end of repression, and greater economic openness for the island, while the Trump administration threatened tariffs on third countries that sell oil to Cuba.

Cuba’s negotiations are playing out against an energy emergency, with Al Jazeera describing fuel shortages since January that have exacerbated recurring power outages that can last up to 40 hours at a stretch.

“The Cuban diaspora will be able to invest in and own businesses in Cuba in many sectors, notably banks and agriculture, Havana announced on Monday as it pursues talks with the United States”

Le Devoir

Al Jazeera reported that Rodriguez accused the US sanctions of “causing deaths” in Cuba, and it cited his warning that “Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines.”

The same Al Jazeera account said Cuba’s ageing energy grid is heavily reliant on fossil fuel products from abroad, and that since January “only one Russian oil tanker” reached the island in March.

In parallel, Le Devoir reported that Havana announced the Cuban diaspora would be able to invest in and own businesses in Cuba in many sectors, while also reiterating that the US embargo in place since 1962 remained a hurdle to relations with companies in the United States.