February 6, 2026 | 02:39 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel said he is prepared to hold talks with the U.S. on Thursday after weeks of threats from the Trump administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously warned that "Cuba will be failing pretty soon" after U.S. forces kidnapped the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and claimed control over the country's vast oil reserves — cutting Cuba off from its main supplier of energy in the process.
Trump has also asked Mexico not to send oil among its humanitarian deliveries to the island, and threatened tariffs on other countries that do.
"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, a dialogue on any topic... but without pressure or preconditions," Diaz-Canel said in an address broadcast on state TV and radio.
He added that any talks must take place "from a position of equals, with respect for our sovereignty, our independence, and our self-determination" and without "interference in our internal affairs."
Cuba goes dark amid U.S. pressure
Six decades of a U.S.-imposed trade embargo combined with chronic mismanagement have left Cuba's electricity grid in shambles.
But the recent lack of oil has caused even longer and more frequent blackouts across the island.
On Wednesday, the four southern provinces of Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba were plunged into darkness. Power was not restored until Thursday morning.
"Since it goes out all the time, I didn't even realize it was a widespread outage," one resident of Cuba's second-largest city, Santiago, told the AFP news agency.
In his address on Thursday, Diaz-Canel pledged to build more solar farms, expand oil storage facilities and develop the island's own crude oil and gas potential, without providing details.
All of these solutions would require international cooperation.
Diaz-Canel also said the government would roll out a contingency plan to further ration energy.
"[The U.S. blockade] affects public transportation, hospitals, schools, the economy and tourism," he said. "How do we till our soil? How do we move around? How do we keep our kids in classes without fuel?"
"We are going to take measures that, while not permanent, will require effort. What else are we to do? Are we going to give up? There is so much to defend."
Read: Trump Threatens Tariffs on Countries Selling Oil to Cuba
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