Two officials told the newspaper that the president should resign, but they leave the subsequent steps in the hands of the regime.
EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, D.C., March 17, 2026 – The administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has raised the possibility that the Cuban leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, will step down from power as part of contacts between officials from both countries about the future of the Island, according to The New York Times (NYT).
According to two officials cited anonymously by The New York Times, U.S. representatives have indicated to Cuban negotiators that the president should resign, although they have left the subsequent steps in the hands of Cuban authorities.
The proposal would involve removing Díaz-Canel, but not necessarily modifying the structure of the current political system, according to the newspaper.
The cited sources added that, for now, Washington is not pushing for measures to be taken against members of Fidel Castro’s family, who continue to be influential figures within the country’s power structure.
Some U.S. officials believe that the departure of the head of state could facilitate structural economic changes that, in their view, Díaz-Canel would be unlikely to support.
Some U.S. officials believe that the departure of the head of state could facilitate structural economic changes that, in their view, Díaz-Canel would be unlikely to support
Trump stated this Monday that it would be “a great honor” for him to “take Cuba,” amid tensions between the two countries over the energy blockade against the Island.
The Republican president has threatened in recent weeks to take control of the Island, whether in a “friendly” or hostile manner, and has repeated that the government in Havana “will fall very soon” because the country “is in ruins,” affected by the crude oil blockade imposed by Washington last January.
For his part, Díaz-Canel confirmed last Friday that there are contacts with the U.S. to “seek solutions through dialogue to the differences between both governments,” something Trump had already suggested but which the Island had denied.
This Monday, the Island’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, announced a group of measures so that “Cubans who reside abroad, even without holding effective residency in Cuba and under the category offered by Cuban migration law called ‘investors and businesspeople,’ can participate in or own private companies” within the country.
In addition, emigrants will be able to “open and operate foreign currency bank accounts in Cuban banks. They will be able to do so in the same way as any person or institution residing in our country,” he added.
The NYT version follows the line of what was reported in previous days by USA Today, which has generated discontent among part of the exile community.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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