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Costa Rica on Wednesday closed its embassy in Havana and told Cuba’s communist government to pull its diplomats from San José.
“We have to clean out communists from the hemisphere,” Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves declared after the diplomatic rupture.
The Cuban Embassy in the U.S. responded to the closure by alleging in a social media post that Costa Rica made the move “under pressure from the United States.”
Díaz-Canel said on X that the Trump administration “publicly threatens” Cuba’s government almost daily with overthrowing it, and any act of aggression “will clash with an impregnable resistance.”
The comments came after new threats by Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Cuba’s socialist economic model needs to “change dramatically.” The same day, another Latin American country denounced Díaz-Canel’s government and said it would close its embassy.
As Trump ramps up pressure on Cuba, China has ‘very limited options’ South China Morning Post
from news.google.com
NBC Nightly News deserves a measure of credit for being the only Elitist Media broadcast network newscast to report on the Cuban regime’s proposed economic opening: a “Cubastroika”, if you will. However, the report is plagued with so many essential omissions that one wonders why NBC even bothered.
Watch the report in its entirety, as aired on NBC Nightly News on Monday, March 16th, 2026:
This weird NBC report on the proposed “Cubastroika’ is remarkable for its many omissions. Nowhere to be found within are the following words: Castro, communism, socialism, regime, protests, Communist Party, dictator, dictatorship. pic.twitter.com/4d9SSfDimx
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 17, 2026
HALLIE JACKSON: To Cuba, tonight, now descending into a blackout as conditions deteriorate. But in a rare and exclusive interview, one official says the country’s now hoping to open up more of a relationship with the U.S., even with some critics skeptical. Our George Solís has made his way to Havana, and has more.
GEORGE SOLÍS: Tonight, Cuba is in the dark. The entire electrical grid collapsing today as the country struggles with an energy crisis, leaving millions on the island without power. During this latest blackout, people have been spilling out to the streets here for hours. Fortunately, some cloud cover to keep them from this blistering heat.
It’s been three months since a drop of oil has reached the country. Highways are empty because there’s no gas. Women are delivering babies in dark hospitals with no electricity. Conditions are deteriorating. I sat down exclusively with Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga, considered by many to be Cuba’s economic czar. His plan- to attract more foreign investors, including large companies from the United States.
OSCAR PEREZ OLIVA FRAGA (In Spanish): Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship…
Trump Administration Reportedly Seeking The Removal Of Cuban President To Allow The Havana Regime To Remain In Power Latin Times
from news.google.com
China is helping Cuba race to capture renewable solar energy as the United States imposes an effective oil blockade on the Caribbean island, creating its worst energy crisis in decades.
As the Trump administration steps back from U.S. climate commitments and reinvests in fossil fuels, China is flexing its dominance in renewable energy, using offers of equipment, expertise and financing as geopolitical levers.
About 11 million people on the island nation of Cuba have lost power after the country’s electrical grid completely collapsed on Monday.
Cuba relies on oil to run the power grid, and a U.S. embargo has worsened the energy crisis it was already suffering under. The U.S. ended oil deliveries to Cuba from Venezuela and threatened other countries with steep tariffs if they provided oil to the nation.
‘Taking Cuba in some form, yeah, taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it.’
The state-owned power operator said efforts were under way to restore power to the island. In the meantime, energy has been rationed and many services have shut down.
“The impact [of the blockade] is tremendous. It is most brutally manifested in these energy issues,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday. “This causes anguish among the population.”
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday (Mar 15) that the United States could soon reach a deal with Cuba or take other action, signalling that developments in the long-strained relationship may come quickly.
“Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One. “We’re talking to Cuba, but we’re going to do Iran before Cuba.”
The comments come as tensions between Washington and Havana remain elevated following years of sanctions, diplomatic friction and disputes over migration and security, with regional allies and investors watching closely for signs of a policy shift.
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday that the country opened talks with the United States as the island faces one of its most severe economic crises in decades.
On Monday, a USA Today reporter asked Donald Trump about the fact that he recently said Cuba wants to make a deal. She said, “What would the United States get in return for that, and why should Americans trust Marco Rubio to negotiate it?”
(Why should we trust Marco Rubio? Girl, please. Where have you been the last year… Oops, sorry, my inner monologue escaped and got the best of me. Back to the president.)
Trump laid it out like this:
Well, Marco Rubio is doing a great job. I think he’s going to go down as the greatest secretary of State in history. Look at what we’ve done as a presidency. Look at what we’ve done as an administration. They trust Marco, and so do the American people… He’s been successful no matter where he’s been. He also speaks the language, which is always nice and always helpful.
REUTERS–Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted in Cuba. It said the group came from the U.S. armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights.
An additional Cuban suspect was detained inside Cuban territory in connection with the plot, the statement said.
“According to preliminary statements from the detainees, they intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,”
Canada is sending $8 million in food aid to people in Cuba, where a U.S. oil blockade has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
The funding will be delivered through United Nations agencies instead of the Cuban government.
Global Affairs Canada has warned travellers for more than a year of “shortages of basic necessities, including food, medicine and fuel,” across most of Cuba.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the press that the boat Cuba’s Coast Guard shot at and killed four people was not participating in a U.S. government operation.
We do not know who was on the boat. One person told The New York Post that the boat was “a US civilian boat working to get relatives out of Cuba, adding that the vessel was not a US Naval or Coast Guard boat.”
The suspects’ boat was loaded with tactical gear, assault rifles and improvised explosives, according to authorities on the island
Cuba’s Interior Ministry has released new findings from its investigation into the deadly gunfight between Cuban border guards and a US‑flagged speedboat, saying the vessel was carrying ten armed men who allegedly intended to execute a “terrorist infiltration.”
Havana said the clash erupted on Wednesday when border guards approached a Florida‑registered vessel, FL7726SH, operating roughly one nautical mile off the northern coast of Villa Clara province for an identification check. The individuals aboard the boat allegedly opened fire first, wounding the commander of a Cuban patrol craft before guards returned fire, killing four people and injuring six others.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Wednesday night that an investigation was underway after the Cuban government opened fire on a speedboat they claimed was registered in Florida, killing four people and wounding multiple others.
Rubio, speaking from St. Kitts and Nevis during a diplomatic engagement with Caribbean leaders, stated that the US learned of the incident through direct Coast Guard-level contacts with Cuban authorities before the Cuban government’s public announcement.
“We’re going to find out exactly what happened, who was involved, and we’ll make a determination on the basis of what we find out,” the secretary told reporters.
Havana — Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there isn’t enough fuel for airplanes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources.
The government of Cuba published the notices to airlines and pilots on Sunday night, warning that jet fuel wouldn’t be available at nine airports across the island, including José Martí International Airport in Havana, starting Tuesday and continuing until March 11.
Political pressure from President Trump on Latin America has effectively severed Cuba’s access to its primary petroleum sources in Venezuela and Mexico. In late January, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.
While Canadians in Cuba are waiting for flights home as an energy crisis worsens in the nation amid a U.S. oil blockade, those who send aid are struggling to do so.
Cuba warned international airlines on Feb. 9 that aviation fuel would no longer be available on the island, beginning Feb. 10, in the latest sign of fast-worsening conditions as the United States moves to cut off the communist-run nation’s oil supply.
Major Canadian airlines, including Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat, have already suspended service to Cuba. All three airlines have confirmed they plan to bring travellers back home to Canada.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has declared that the communist regime would defend itself “to the last drop of blood” before making a deal with the United States.
Bermúdez responded defiantly to pressure from President Donald Trump, who urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington.
Trump addressed Cuba earlier in the day in a Truth Social post, warning the regime to negotiate while it still can and signaling a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the island.
“They make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump wrote.
President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolas Maduro was deposed as Venezuela’s leader. Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country’s oil products. Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!” “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida.
The Cuban Communist Party is reporting that 32 Cubans were killed during the strikes on Caracas, during which the U.S. apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.