March 28, 2026 | 09:11 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Havana has petitioned the Vatican to mediate between Cuba and the United States amid the worsening energy crisis on the island, The Washington Post reported Friday, March 27, citing several sources familiar with the talks.
The discussions intensified in late February after U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Brian Burch and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Cuba Mike Hammer met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher in Rome.
A week after that meeting, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez traveled to the Vatican for an audience with Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Foreign Minister Rodriguez also invited Pope Leo to visit the Caribbean islands and appealed for urgent assistance from the Holy See to alleviate the crisis in Cuba.
Discussions on the matter continued in a separate meeting between Cardinal Parolin and Foreign Minister Rodriguez, during which the senior diplomat urged the Vatican to explain to Washington just how critical the situation on the island was, according to a report citing a source familiar with the discussions.
On the same day, Cardinal Parolin also met with Ambassador Burch and diplomat Hammer.
The Vatican is now seeking a less traumatic path than the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, which led to the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Last January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing Washington to impose import tariffs on goods from countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba. Trump also declared a national emergency, citing a threat to national security allegedly originating from Havana.
The Cuban government accuses the U.S. of attempting to cripple the Caribbean nation’s economy and make living conditions unbearable for the Cuban people.
Last week, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed that Havana is negotiating with Washington to resolve the differences between the two nations.
Cuba is also ready to continue talks with the United States based on the principles of equality and mutual respect for each country’s political system, said President Diaz-Canel.
Read: UN Pushes Emergency Plan for Cuba Aid Amid US Talks
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