Trump Claims Cuba Negotiating Deal with Rubio and Himself Amid Crisis

President Donald Trump publicly asserted that Cuba is negotiating directly with U.S. figures, naming Senator Marco Rubio and himself as participants and predicting "a deal will be made very soon with Cuba," a claim that, if true, would mark an abrupt turn in U.S.-Cuban engagement while the island faces severe shortages. Trump made the remarks at public events this week, telling reporters on Feb. 27 that "the Cuban government is talking with us" and later saying at a conservative leaders summit in Doral, Florida, "They want to negotiate and they are negotiating with [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] and myself and some others and I would think a deal will be made very soon with Cuba."

Trump also suggested a hands-on role for Rubio, saying "I’m going to put Marco [Rubio] over there and we'll see how that works out," language that Trump used despite Rubio holding the office of U.S. senator rather than secretary of state. U.S. outlets have reported, unconfirmed by Havana, that Rubio’s advisers met Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, 41, a grandson and reported close confidant and bodyguard of former president Raúl Castro, at the end of February on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community summit in St Kitts and Nevis. The Cuban government has not confirmed any talks with Washington or named interlocutors.

The stakes cited by the White House rhetoric are immediate. Cuba has endured a major blackout that swept the western half of the island and, analysts estimate, government fuel reserves could be exhausted by mid- to late March, intensifying pressure on state services and transport. Trump characterized conditions bluntly, saying Cuba has "no money, no anything right now" and calling the situation "a disaster." At the same time, Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, via state media, urged "urgent" economic reforms, saying "We must focus immediately on implementing the most urgent and necessary transformations to the economic and social model," including more autonomy for the private sector and increased foreign investment in energy.

Trump outlined specific levers he says the U.S. has used or may use to compel change: "We cut off all oil, all money, or we cut off everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source," and administration aides have threatened tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba. The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly examining possible legal action tied to Cuba’s government. Critics warn those maximum-pressure tactics risk harming ordinary Cubans more than the leadership, and analysts note Cuba lacks a widely recognized internal opposition that could steer a transition if the government collapses.

The president framed his remarks in Miami-facing venues: at a White House East Room event honoring Inter Miami, where Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez attended, Trump told club co-owner Jorge Mas, "we'll be together again soon, I suspect, celebrating what's going on in Cuba," and Mas replied, "It's going to be an amazing day." For now, the core claims remain claims: Trump’s statements are on the record, contacts such as the reported St Kitts meeting are unverified by Havana, and key questions persist about whether Rubio has any formal negotiating mandate and what, if any, concessions a Cuban interlocutor might accept before fuel and foreign currency flows run out. Expect developments to accelerate if analysts’ mid- to late-March fuel timeline holds.