WASHINGTON, March 18. /TASS/. The New York Times article claiming that Washington seeks to remove Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from power is a fake story, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"The reason so many in US media keep putting out fake stories like this one is because they continue to rely on charlatans and liars claiming to be in the know as their sources," he wrote on X.
The article claimed Washington officials had told Cuba that for meaningful progress to be made in negotiations, President Diaz-Canel must step down. According to the paper, the US authorities believe that removing Cuba’s head of state would allow structural economic changes in the country so that it would gradually open its economy to American businesses.
US President Donald Trump said on March 17 that the US would "be doing something with Cuba soon." However, he did not elaborate further.
On March 13, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said that Havana and Washington had held talks aimed at finding solutions to bilateral differences through dialogue. The head of state noted that the goals of the dialogue were to identify problems that require solutions and seek ways to address them, as well as to determine the willingness of both parties to take specific action for the benefit of countries’ people and determine areas for cooperation to confront threats and ensure security and peace. Cuba is willing to carry out the process on the basis of equality and respect for both countries’ political systems and for Havana’s "sovereignty and self-determination."