Havana (Cuba), 26 March (LaPresse/AP) – Former Cuban President Raúl Castro is involved in the talks between the island and the United States, which are still in their early stages. This was stated by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The talks are taking place against a backdrop of growing tensions between the two nations, with Cuba plagued by nationwide blackouts caused by a crumbling electricity grid and an ongoing oil embargo imposed by US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba and recently claimed that he would soon have ‘the honour of conquering Cuba’. The talks as a whole are being managed collectively by the Cuban government, Díaz-Canel told Spanish left-wing leader Pablo Iglesias in a video interview lasting over an hour and broadcast by state media. Iglesias was in Cuba as part of a delegation of around 600 activists from 33 countries, who arrived last week to deliver humanitarian aid. “A process of talks leading to an agreement is a long one,” Díaz-Canel told Iglesias, who produced the interview for his crowdfunded television channel, Canal RED. “Firstly, we must establish a channel for dialogue. Then, we must define common agendas of interest for the parties, and the parties must demonstrate their intention to move forward and genuinely commit to the programme on the basis of discussions on those agendas,” said Díaz-Canel.