There’s been a rumor going around about a major “economic deal” between the United States and Cuba that would see the U.S. easing sanctions, providing the current “president,” Miguel Díaz-Canel, with an exit strategy, and allowing the Castro family to stay on the island, protected and living happily ever after. I believe USA Today started it, quoting “anonymous sources,” and the MSM ran with it. I’ve even seen some of my fellow conservatives reporting optimistically on it, as if it’s all but set in stone.
On Tuesday, I mentioned that I don’t buy it, and now Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) has confirmed that it’s not true. Díaz-Balart may be one of the few people in Congress who knows Cuba as well as, if not better than, Marco Rubio — he was born to a prominent Cuban family. His aunt, Mirta Díaz-Balart, was Fidel Castro’s first wife, and their late son, Fidelito, was his cousin. While the congressman was born in Florida, he’s had a front-row seat to the reality inside the country.
Díaz-Balart told the Miami Herald that, “There have been conversations with multiple people around Raúl Castro, basically with everyone around Raúl, at the highest levels, but they aren’t negotiations. They’re the kind of conversations they had with Maduro. Even President Trump spoke with Maduro.”
If you’ll recall, the conversations with Maduro were more like… You walk away, and we’ll leave you alone. Maduro reportedly offered up all sorts of things to Trump in an effort to stay in power, like oil, gold, etc., but that wasn’t really what the Trump administration was after. Maduro never took the talks seriously and allegedly thought he had plenty of time to get it straightened out. Joke was on him, as he now sleeps on a metal bed in the Metropolitan Detention Center… a long cry from Miraflores Palace.
As I’ve reported, Rubio has supposedly been talking to Castro’s grandson, something he hasn’t denied but won’t confirm, so it’s not clear if that’s who the congressman is talking about. Rubio’s team also reportedly met with the younger Castro in the Caribbean last month. The Herald suggests these talks could also include Castro’s children, as well as high-level military leaders and the head of GAESA, the Castro family’s military conglomerate that controls a large portion of Cuba’s economic affairs in various sectors.
While Díaz-Canel may be the so-called “president,” the Castros still run the country. He was hand-picked by 94-year-old Raúl to be the face of the regime.
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The rumors of “negotiations” with the Castro regime have upset the Cuban diaspora in the United States, and understandably so, but Díaz-Balart assures that “Partial changes are not acceptable; the concept of Raúl without Raúl is not acceptable to this administration.”
On social media, he added to that, “President Trump always keeps all his options on the table.”
President Trump and Secretary Rubio have repeatedly stated that the anti-American Castro regime is not acceptable in our hemisphere.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m convinced this regime will not survive the remainder of this Trump presidency.
— Mario Díaz-Balart (@MarioDB) March 12, 2026
House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week that he didn’t think this would end up as a “boots on the ground” situation. Trump himself has spoken multiple times in recent weeks of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, though on Monday, he said that “Marco is dealing with Cuba” and what may end up being a friendly takeover, but that it could end up being a “not so friendly takeover” after he finishes up in Iran.
“They have no energy, they have no money,” the president added. “They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis. And we don’t want to see that.”
Of course, the regime itself claims that there are no talks going on with the U.S. Díaz-Canel, who has been a lot more vocal than he typically is lately — proving that he’s nervous, in my opinion — has said he’s open to talks with the U.S. but only those that would respect Cuba’s sovereignty. I think Trump and Rubio lost respect for Cuba’s so-called sovereignty a long time ago, as have most of its people. Wednesday night was night six of protests breaking out across Havana and other parts of the country, and I’m seeing Cubans across social media begging Trump to intervene daily.
As I’m writing this, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba just posted the following on X:
Cubans are protesting across the entire island demanding ‘Freedom!’ and ‘Down with the dictatorship!”’ If the United States enters into conversations with the Cuban regime, the negotiations must begin with clear preconditions:
– Immediate release of all political prisoners (within 72 hours)
– Dismantling of the regime’s repressive apparatus, including the MININT, the Rapid Response Brigades, and the CDR
– Repeal of laws that criminalize freedom of expression and peaceful dissent
– Allow independent humanitarian assistance
– End state control of internet access and censorship Freedom and fundamental rights cannot be bargaining chips.
For what it’s worth, Rep. Díaz-Balart reposted it to his feed.
I’m glad the congressman is speaking out. This is why I rarely buy into big MSM narratives guided by unnamed sources — they were almost never correct in the months leading up to Maduro’s arrest, and now they’re doing the same with Cuba. More often than not, these “sources” know very little and have an agenda or just want to make themselves seem more important than they really are. The truth will reveal itself, probably sooner than we think. Until then, most everything in the MSM is just gossip.
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