Cuba acknowledges secret meetings with U.S. as Trump dials up threats

"We want to avoid manipulation and speculation. The talks, he said, were still "in their first phase ... to establish an agenda" that high-level groups of officials on both sides would address. "We have to construct the space that lets us move forward," he said."

"President Donald Trump has made clear that Cuba is next on his agenda of states to topple, following the January capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and the launching of a war against Iran. The U.S., Trump said late last week, "is looking forward to the great change that will be coming to Cuba," a country that is "at the end of the line" and in its "last moments of life.""

""They're down to fumes," Trump said Monday, "It may be a friendly takeover, it might not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn't matter." "We are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal," a White House official said Friday."

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly confirmed that his government has held direct talks with the United States aimed at resolving bilateral differences through dialogue. The acknowledgment came during a government and Communist Party meeting in Havana, confirming reports of secret meetings between Trump administration officials and Cuban leaders close to former president Raúl Castro. Díaz-Canel stated the talks are in their initial phase focused on establishing an agenda for high-level official groups. Simultaneously, Cuba announced the release of 51 prisoners following 2021 anti-government protest arrests. President Trump has indicated Cuba is next on his agenda for regime change, following Venezuela's situation, describing Cuba as being in its "last moments of life." A White House official stated the U.S. is engaged in talks with Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal.

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