Washington is quietly telling Havana that its current president has to go if the two sides are going to cut a deal, according to four people familiar with ongoing talks who spoke to the New York Times. Trump administration officials have signaled to Cuban negotiators that President Miguel Díaz-Canel's removal is a condition for progress in negotiations over the island's political and economic future, the sources say. The proposal stops short of targeting the Castro family or dismantling Cuba's one-party system, and instead focuses on replacing Díaz-Canel—seen in Washington as a rigid holdover and convenient fall guy for the island's severe economic crisis. The Cuban government declined to comment.
US officials view the talks as a way to gradually open Cuba's economy to American businesses while securing political concessions that US President Trump can present as victories, including the release of political prisoners and the sidelining of aging Fidel Castro loyalists. Removing Díaz-Canel, they argue, could pave the way for modest economic reforms without altering the real power structure, which still runs through the military conglomerate GAESA and senior Castro relatives. Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, a grandson of Raúl Castro and a key US interlocutor, is expected to retain influence behind the scenes if a transition occurs.
For Trump, forcing out Díaz-Canel would echo his claim of having "taken" Venezuela, where a US-backed operation led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and gave Washington leverage over that country's oil. In Cuba, the White House has so far relied on economic pressure—including blocking oil shipments from Venezuela and Mexico—to deepen Havana's energy crunch and blackouts. Díaz-Canel, who has two years left in his term, publicly blames a US "energy blockade" for the island's turmoil. Some exiled Cuban analysts and activists say his departure would be largely cosmetic unless it comes with broader changes to the Communist Party leadership and the military-run economy.
Trump, meanwhile, on Monday again raised the possibility of a "friendly takeover of Cuba," the AP reports. He said he believes he'll have the "honor of taking Cuba," which he called a "very weakened nation." "I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it," he said. He hinted that the country is on the verge of collapse, Politico reports. "I think Cuba sees the end," he said. "All my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?"
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