LatinNews Daily - 16 February 2026

*US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that it is “important for the people of Cuba to have more freedom – not just political freedom, but economic freedom”. He made his comments in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on the sidelines of the 13-15 February Munich Security Conference in Germany, in what is the clearest sign yet of what Havana could do to ease pressure from the crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington – most recently in the form of an oil blockade. In the interview, Rubio said that economic freedom is “what this regime has not been willing to give them, because they’re afraid that if the people of Cuba can provide for themselves, they lose control of them.” He did not provide further details as to what this negotiation might entail, saying “obviously these things require space and time to do in the right way…Certainly their willingness to begin to make openings in this regard is one potential way forward.” Cuba’s Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) government has previously said it was open to talks with the US as the island faces economic collapse, but ruled out any talk of changes to the country’s political system. Rubio’s comments come as the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Marta Hurtado, warned on 13 February about the “increasingly severe impact” of the US oil blockade, along with “a decades-long financial and trade embargo” and “extreme weather events” on Cubans’ human rights, noting “the current oil scarcity has put the availability of essential services at risk nationwide”. This came after a fire was reported on 13 February (since brought under control) at a key oil refinery Refinería Ñico López in Havana dealt a further blow to the country’s rapidly dwindling oil supplies.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 300 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial