US Seeks to Oust Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Trump Sets Absolute Conditions
Diplomatic tension between the United States and Cuba has entered a critical new phase. The Trump administration is reportedly targeting the removal of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as an absolute precondition for Havana if it wishes to reach any agreement or normalise relations with Washington.
According to reporting by The New York Times citing internal sources, Washington has explicitly stated that there will be no agreement whatsoever whilst Díaz-Canel remains in power. Nevertheless, the US is reported to be eschewing direct military intervention, instead delegating the mechanism of leadership change to the Cuban people through economic pressure.
Several senior officials within the Trump administration believe that Díaz-Canel’s presence represents a major obstacle to structural economic change in the island nation. Washington views more open economic reforms as unlikely to be supported by Díaz-Canel, who is known as an ideological loyalist of the Cuban Communist Party.
In contrast to previous approaches, Washington is now reported to no longer focus its actions on the Castro family, but instead specifically target the Díaz-Canel administration as a symbol of the status quo that must end.
As a concrete step to pressure Havana, President Trump signed an executive order in late January 2026. This order grants Washington full authority to impose heavy import tariffs on goods from any country that continues to supply oil to Cuba.
This aggressive step is accompanied by the US declaring a national emergency status. The rationale cited is a threat to national security allegedly stemming from the activities of the Havana government in the Caribbean region.
Miguel Díaz-Canel is a senior politician of the Cuban Communist Party who has served as President since April 2018, replacing Raúl Castro. Before reaching the presidency, he served as First Vice President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers during 2013-2018.
Under his leadership, Cuba has continued to seek to maintain its socialist sovereignty amid increasingly intense US economic sanctions since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Geopolitical analysts predict that this uncompromising policy from Washington will further isolate Cuba financially, whilst also testing the resilience of the communist regime in Havana in the face of mounting inflationary pressure and worsening energy shortages.