Cuba confirms talks with US officials, wants end to Trump’s energy blockade

A Cuban Foreign Ministry official said the exchange with Washington was ‘respectful and professional’ and devoid of threats.The Cuban government has confirmed that it held recent talks in Havana with officials from the United States, as tensions remain high between the two countries over Washington’s energy blockade of the Caribbean country.Alejandro Garcia del Toro, deputy director general in charge of US affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that the US delegation included assistant secretaries of state, and the Cuban delegation included representatives at the level of deputy foreign minister.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Hungary’s incoming PM says Netanyahu would be arrested if he visitslist 2 of 4Six women win 2026 Goldman prize, world’s top environmental awardlist 3 of 4Global fallout grows over Israeli soldier smashing Jesus statue in Lebanonlist 4 of 4US is ‘pretty far behind where they started’ the war on Iranend of listGarcia de Toro said that the US delegation did not issue any threats or deadlines as had been reported by some US media outlets.“The entire exchange was conducted with respect and professionalism,” he said.In comments reported by Cuba’s Communist Party newspaper Granma, Garcia del Toro emphasised that ending the three-month-old US oil blockade was “a top priority” for the Cuban government in the talks, and accused Washington of “blackmail” for threatening countries that export oil to Cuba with tariffs.“This act of economic coercion is an unjustified punishment for the entire Cuban population,” he said.“It is also a form of global blackmail against sovereign states, which have every right to export fuel to Cuba, in accordance with the principles of free trade,” he added.US news outlet Axios reported on Friday that officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration held multiple meetings in Havana on April 10, including with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of former President Raul Castro. The meetings marked the first time that American diplomats had flown into Cuba since 2016 in a new diplomatic push.According to reports, US officials laid out several conditions for negotiations with Cuba to continue, including the release of prominent political prisoners, an end to political repression, and liberalising the island’s ailing economy.