Vatican quietly steps up role in US-Cuba talks

The Vatican is re-emerging as a potential facilitator of a U.S.-Cuba bilateral deal after Cuba announced the release of 51 prisoners in anticipation of Holy Week, crediting the 'close and fluid relations between the Cuban state and the Vatican.'

“As the Trump administration and its allies ramp up pressure on Havana following deadly bombing campaigns in Caracas and Tehran, an interlocutor that for decades has mediated turbulent U”

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Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the Holy See had taken the 'necessary steps' to ensure a 'negotiated solution' between the two countries, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla was received by Pope Leo XIV.

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These talks followed a recent meeting in Rome between a senior U.S. diplomat and the Holy See’s equivalent of a foreign minister.

On Friday morning, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canal confirmed that his government is speaking with U.S. officials, said the talks are in their early stages and credited 'international actors' for facilitating them without specifying the players involved.

Reports indicate President Trump has floated a 'friendly takeover' — 'or not' — of Cuba while USA Today reported the White House is preparing a 'surprise economic deal' that could include relaxing restrictions on Americans' travel to the island, plus deals related to ports, energy, and tourism infrastructure, with limited sanctions relief reportedly on the table.

In exchange, Cuba could provide an offramp for Díaz-Canel to potentially step aside while allowing members of the powerful Castro family to remain on the island, provisions Cuban officials appear open to and which U.S. officials see as advancing the Trump administration’s interests in the Caribbean.

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The article also highlights contradictions and unclear elements in the reporting: the piece uses two spellings for Cuba's president, 'Miguel Diaz-Canal' and 'Díaz-Canel,' and it remains unclear whether the U.S. has a coherent overall strategy toward Cuba given simultaneous signals about economic leverage, potential criminal charges, and revenue choke-offs.

The article describes a mix of signals and concrete moves that may reflect cautious outreach, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio appearing to back off immediate regime change in favor of gradual economic reform and reports that Rubio’s State Department advisers have met with the grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro and others in Castro’s inner circle, meetings Cuban authorities have not denied but called 'speculation.'

“As the Trump administration and its allies ramp up pressure on Havana following deadly bombing campaigns in Caracas and Tehran, an interlocutor that for decades has mediated turbulent U”

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Other positive signs include allowing fuel sales to Cuba’s private sector amid a de facto oil blockade, delivery of $9 million in humanitarian aid through the Catholic Church, legalization of public-private partnerships, and floated economic reforms to increase the private sector's role.

Regional leaders like Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged 'constructive dialogue,' and some countries offered to mediate, but many Caribbean states caved to U.S. pressure by canceling a decades-old program to contract Cuban medical professionals.

The State Department’s Coordinator for Cuban Affairs visited the island to meet Catholic leaders and discuss humanitarian aid, though it remains unclear if he held talks with his Cuban government counterparts as part of an expected 'formal meeting' on February 28.

The Vatican has a recent track record mediating U.S.-Cuba breakthroughs: during the final days of the Biden administration the Vatican helped facilitate the release of 533 prisoners, Cuba's removal from the U.S. state sponsor of terrorism list, elimination of the State Department 'Cuba Restricted List,' and suspension of a provision in a 1996 law that allowed U.S. firms to sue entities allegedly trafficking in property nationalized after the Cuban Revolution.

The Vatican also played a key role in the Obama administration’s secret 2013-14 talks, with Pope Francis encouraging President Obama and a Vatican meeting coordinated by Secretary Parolin described as fundamental to building confidence.

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The article notes Pope Francis’ death last April and says his successor—who has visited the island in the past and possibly even has Cuban roots—appears willing to continue that diplomatic role, and it quotes Pope Leo XIV inviting 'all those responsible to promote sincere and effective dialogue, in order to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the beloved Cuban people.'

The article was updated to include new remarks from the Cuban president on Friday morning.