Cuba has confirmed informal contact with the United States but denied formal negotiations are underway, as the island confronts what officials acknowledge is its worst economic crisis in three decades - compounded by historic cold temperatures and a collapsing electrical grid.
Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister, told Spanish agency EFE that the two governments have "exchanged messages" since early January, but rejected characterizations that Havana and Washington are "designing a negotiation table." "It would be an error to say that we are designing a negotiation," he said, "because such discussions haven't formally begun."
The careful parsing comes as Cuba navigates converging catastrophes. The island recorded its first-ever freezing temperature - 0°C at a weather station in Matanzas province - while electricity blackouts extend for days in many neighborhoods. Citizens report power availability of just 6 hours in a month in some areas, forcing hospitals to cancel surgeries and families to discard spoiled food.
Fernández de Cossío acknowledged Cuba's "constrained circumstances" and said the government would announce contingency measures, but insisted any dialogue must respect Cuba's sovereignty and equal standing. Political and economic reforms are off the table, as are prisoner releases - the traditional US demands.
The mixed signals underscore Havana's limited leverage. President Trump has claimed his administration is conducting "high-level negotiations" with Cuba, creating a public discrepancy both governments have yet to resolve. Cuba wants sanctions relief and resumption of remittances that sustain millions of families. Washington wants - well, that remains the question.
What's clear is that Cuba is no longer waiting for Venezuela or Russia to rescue it. After watching Caracas implode and Moscow prioritize its war in Ukraine, Havana is testing whether the Trump administration's transactional approach might open space for the kind of tactical engagement that eluded the ideologically-driven policies of both countries for six decades.
According to reports, Cuban officials have communicated willingness for "serious, constructive, and respectful discussions" - diplomatic language that signals flexibility without surrender.
Twenty countries, 650 million people. Cuba's 11 million are writing their own chapter now, one careful message at a time.
