Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz took to social media Thursday evening to dismiss speculation that Cuba’s leadership is divided, following an unusual interview in which the grandson of former Cuban leader Raul Castro said he was willing to open talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The interview, published by USA Today, featured Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro — a 42-year-old known by the nickname “El Cangrejo” who holds no formal position in the Cuban government. His public offer to engage with Washington quickly fueled questions about whether factions within Cuba’s power structure disagree on how to handle relations with the United States.
Prime Minister Marrero pushed back firmly against those questions in his social media post.
“Conversations have been held with representatives of the U.S. government aimed at seeking solutions, through dialogue, to bilateral differences,” he wrote.
He added: “The working team formed for this strategic responsibility has the trust, support, and mandate of the Army General and of the First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President of the Republic Miguel Diaz-Canel.”
Senior Cuban foreign ministry officials have consistently said that while lines of communication with the U.S. remain open, the two countries have made little meaningful progress in their relationship.
Earlier this week, tensions between the two nations came to a head at the United Nations. Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, described the U.S. fuel embargo and economic sanctions as a “systematic violation of the human rights of an entire people in an act of collective punishment.” Most of the countries that participated in the debate urged Washington to lift the blockade and roll back the sanctions, which have severely damaged Cuba’s economy.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz countered that Cuba’s own government bears responsibility for the country’s electricity shortages.
