HAVANA — Government leaders from Cuba and the United States began holding direct talks for the first time in years in late March 2026. The Cuban government says its political system is not open for debate.

The talks come as Cuba faces severe economic hardship. The U.S. imposed an oil embargo on Cuba that has limited its fuel supplies. The U.S.-imposed oil embargo has led to island-wide blackouts in Cuba. Electricity in parts of Havana was out for nearly 24 hours as of late March 2026. Trash collection in Havana has been disrupted by fuel shortages, causing garbage to accumulate in the streets.

The negotiations have drawn criticism from those who say Cuban citizens are excluded from the process. "Civil society doesn't have a seat at the table," said Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a pro-democracy activist. "We want dialogues and discussions where the Cubans are the protagonists."

Some Cubans expressed skepticism about the talks. "These are not negotiations. These are not fair talks," said Liz Olivia Fernández, a journalist.

The talks take place against a backdrop of political repression following antigovernment protests. The July 11, 2021 protest was the largest antigovernment street protest in Cuba in decades. The country's most vocal activists fled Cuba after the government's repression of the nationwide protest on July 11, 2021. There are an estimated 1,000 political prisoners in Cuba.

Among those imprisoned is Duannis Taboada, now 26 years old. Taboada was watching soccer at a café when he spontaneously joined the provincial protest on July 11, 2021. Duannis Taboada was beaten by security forces during the July 11, 2021 antigovernment street protest in Havana. Duannis Taboada was arrested after joining the July 11, 2021 antigovernment street protest in Havana. Duannis Taboada was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

"You've had a really gradual but very clear decline in investment in the boilerplate communist revolutionary ideology over the last 35 years," said Ted Henken, a professor of Cuban studies at Baruch College. "I rarely meet Cubans who defend that system, because they've lived in it, and it doesn't work."

A vessel named Maguro, renamed "Granma 2.0," arrived at the port of Havana from Mexico carrying humanitarian aid as part of the Nuestra America convoy.