Cuba ‘categorically’ rejects prospect of removing Diaz-Canel in US talks

Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio says he is open to negotiating with the US over trade, but refused to entertain a leadership shake-up.Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba's deputy minister of foreign affairs, speaks during a news conference on February 26 [Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA]Published On 20 Mar 2026A top official in the Cuban government has denied “categorically” that Havana is negotiating with the United States over the fate of its president, Miguel Diaz-Canel.On Friday, Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told a news conference that shake-ups in the government were not up for discussion.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Cuba’s lights begin to return, but its crisis is far from overlist 2 of 3European groups join aid convoy to Cuba amid crippling oil blockadelist 3 of 3Trump wants to overthrow the Cuban presidentend of list“The political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation, and of course neither the president ‌nor the position of any official in Cuba is subject to negotiation with the United States,” Fernandez de Cossio said.His remarks were a firm repudiation of reports that the administration of United States President Donald Trump was seeking the removal of Diaz-Canel.The New York Times reported earlier this week that, while Trump is pushing for Diaz-Canel’s ouster, he is not seeking the dismantlement of other parts of the Cuban government.The plan would be similar to what Trump implemented in Venezuela after his January 3 attack to abduct and imprison Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. That manoeuvre left intact the rest of Maduro’s government.Critics point out, however, that carrying out such a plan in Cuba would leave the family of longtime leader Fidel Castro in positions of power — and it would stop short of dismantling a government long accused of violent repression against its people.Diaz-Canel is the first president in Cuba not to be a part of the Castro family since 1976.Fidel Castro led the country from the time of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 until 2008, and his brother Raul Castro succeeded him as president from 2008 to 2018.According to a constitutional reform set in 2019, presidents in Cuba serve five-year terms, which means Diaz-Canel will reach the end of his second term in 2028.Diaz-Canel also serves as the head of the island’s Communist Party, a position he assumed in 2021. That, too, has a five-year term.But Trump has repeatedly indicated he would like to see Cuba’s communist leadership fall quickly, and he has implemented a series of measures to weaken the government.On January 11, Trump announced that Venezuela, a close regional ally of Cuba, would no longer exchange oil or funds with the island.Then, on January 29, Trump issued an executive order labelling Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US.To address the “national emergency”, Trump pledged to impose steep import taxes on any country that sent oil to Cuba, effectively placing the island under a fuel blockade.Cuba’s ageing energy grid relies on fossil fuels to provide the country with electricity. This week, after nearly six weeks without oil imports, Cuba briefly found itself in the grips of an islandwide blackout, affecting nearly 10 million people.The United Nations has warned of humanitarian “collapse” on the island, as conditions worsen.Already, Cuba has been under a total trade embargo from the US since the Cold War in the 1960s.With the US only about 145 kilometres (90 miles) away, critics have blamed the embargo for destabilising the island’s economy, in addition to government mismanagement.While tensions between the US and Cuba briefly eased in 2016, Trump took office for his first term the following year, and he reimposed US restrictions on travel and trade that had been briefly lifted.He has continued that “maximum pressure” campaign into his second term, which began in January 2025. The Cuban government has acknowledged it is in talks with the Trump administration to lift the current fuel blockade.Trump, meanwhile, has floated the idea of leading a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, describing its government as being “in its last moments of life“.“I do believe I’ll be the honour [sic], having the honour of taking Cuba. That’d be good. It’s a big honour,” Trump said on Monday from the Oval Office.“Whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”Legal experts, however, have warned that such threats amount to a violation of Cuban sovereignty.In his remarks on Friday, Fernandez de Cossio did say that Cuba was willing to negotiate with the US in areas like trade.He noted that Cuba is seeking compensation for damages wrought by the US embargo, and that there are 5,913 claims from the US for property nationalised during the Cuban Revolution.“These are very complex issues that can be discussed, but they require dialogue,” Fernandez de Cossio said. “They require sitting down and are legitimate matters.”