Washington demands free-market reforms as Cuba grapples with a nationwide blackout and economic collapse, with talks stalled over political change
HAVANA: The United States has intensified pressure on Cuba’s communist government to enact free-market reforms as the island nation struggles to recover from a crippling nationwide electricity blackout.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed Cuba’s recent decision to allow exiles to invest and own businesses as insufficient. “What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It’s not going to fix it,” Rubio, a Cuban-American critic, told reporters at the White House.
President Donald Trump added to the pressure, stating, “We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.” He had previously declared his intention to “take” Cuba, citing the nation’s weakened state.
Cuba faces mounting crises, including a US-enforced oil blockade and the loss of its chief regional ally, Venezuela, after a US military operation toppled socialist leader Nicolas Maduro in January.
The island’s economy has been further hammered, with no oil imports since January 9 crippling the power sector and forcing airlines to curtail flights. Cuba’s ageing electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily outages of up to 20 hours common in some areas.
A total electricity breakdown on Monday underscored the parlous state of affairs, though power was restored to two-thirds of the country by early Tuesday. “What we fear all the time is that the blackout will drag on and we will lose the little bit that we have in the fridge,” said retiree Olga Suarez, 64.
Cuban envoy Tanieris Dieguez said the country is open to broad talks with Washington and allowing more investment. “The only thing that Cuba asks for any conversation is respect to our sovereignty and to our right to self-determination,” she told AFP.
She firmly stated, however, that Cuba will not discuss changing its political system. “Nothing related with our political system… is part of the negotiations, and never will it be part of that,” Dieguez said.
According to The New York Times, the Trump administration has called for Cuba to sack President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is seen as resistant to change. Adding to the island’s woes, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Cuba’s coast early Tuesday, though no casualties or damage were immediately reported.
