As Cuba faces rolling blackouts, food shortages and renewed protests, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá is warning in an interview to Fox News Digital that the island’s deepening crisis cannot be solved with economic reforms alone and is urging the United States to maintain pressure on the communist government in Havana.

The recent outages and shortages are tied to Cuba’s worsening energy and economic crisis. 

A recent nationwide blackout was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the island’s largest power station, cutting electricity across much of the country, according to Reuters. The crisis has been compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration moved to curtail oil shipments to the island, particularly from Venezuela — one of Cuba’s main suppliers. 

Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the country’s economic difficulties, while repeated power plant failures and an aging electrical grid have left millions facing prolonged blackouts that have fueled growing public frustration and protests.

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The state-run company blamed U.S. sanctions in an official statement, saying, «Without ending the financial blockade, there can be no permanent energy stability,» according to CubaHeadlines.

The Trump administration has increased pressure on Cuba in recent months, tightening sanctions and targeting oil shipments that help power the island’s energy system. The measures are part of a broader effort to weaken the Cuban government and support democratic change on the island. 

«To President Trump, it’s important for you to know that the Cuban people are grateful for what this administration is doing and that we are ready, and we want to make Cuba great again,» Payá said, addressing him directly. «And that means an end to the communist dictatorship, not just a new economy, but a new republic.» 

Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most prominent Cuban–American voices in U.S. politics, long has advocated a tougher stance toward Havana and stronger support for pro-democracy movements on the island. 

The Trump administration recently has increased pressure on the Cuban government, including measures targeting oil shipments that help sustain the island’s struggling energy sector. 

Trump praised Rubio during a press conference Tuesday and suggested he could play a central role in any potential negotiations with Havana.

«Marco Rubio is doing a great job,» Trump said. «I think he’s going to go down as the greatest secretary of state in history. They trust Marco.»

«We want to work with President Trump and with Secretary Rubio, the opposition is united,» Payá said. «We have a plan. It’s called the Freedom Accord,» she added, referring to a democratic transition framework promoted by opposition groups in Cuba. «We are ready to lead this process. The moment is now, Mr. President.»

Opposition groups have developed the Freedom Accord, a political roadmap for democratic change, which she says would guide a transition away from the current system in Cuba. 

Payá, 37, who escaped the country 13 years ago, has spent the past decade advocating internationally for democratic change in Cuba. 

She is the daughter of prominent dissident Oswaldo Payá, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and architect of the Varela Project, a petition campaign in the early 2000s that gathered more than 25,000 signatures demanding free elections and civil liberties in Cuba.

Her father died in 2012 alongside fellow activist Harold Cepero in what Payá describes as an assassination by the Cuban regime. Cuban authorities said the men were killed in a car crash in eastern Cuba, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights later concluded there were «serious indications» that Cuban state agents were involved in the deaths.

«After the Cuban regime assassinated my father … I have been trying to follow his legacy together with many, many other Cubans on the island and in exile that today believe that we have a real chance and freedom,» she said, describing a movement that today includes activists both on the island and in exile.

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Members of the «Ladies in White» opposition group march beside the funeral procession of Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba’s best-known dissidents, in Havana, July 24, 2012.  (Reuters)

The crisis inside Cuba has reached a level where basic survival has become a daily struggle for many families, according to Payá.  

«The situation today is that mothers don’t know if they are going to be able to feed their child tonight,» she said. «Most of the island has been suffering blackouts that last for days on many occasions.»The island has experienced waves of unrest in recent years driven by economic collapse and political repression. 

The largest demonstrations against the regime erupted on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island chanting «freedom» in the biggest protests since the 1959 revolution.

Authorities responded with mass arrests and prison sentences for many demonstrators. 

For Payá, those protests reflected something deeper than economic frustration.

«The Cuban people have been fighting for freedom for the last 67 years,» she said. «We are demanding political freedom, not just a new economy.»

Despite comparisons between Cuba’s crisis and the political turmoil in Venezuela, Payá argues the situation in Cuba is fundamentally different. 

«Cuba’s situation is quite different,» she said. «This is the longest running communist dictatorship in the Western hemisphere.» 

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Cuban exiles block the Palmetto Expressway at Coral Way in support of protesters in Cuba in 2021 in Miami.  (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)

While she emphasized that Cubans themselves must ultimately drive political change, Payá said international pressure remains essential because of the regime’s ability to repress dissent.

Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions.

Payá said the Cuban opposition hopes the United States will continue supporting democratic change on the island.

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Anabel Oliva, 20, speaks outside the University of Havana during a protest against disruptions in classes due to energy and internet shortages, amid U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade that have deepened the country’s crisis, in Havana, Cuba, March 9, 2026.  (Norlys Perez/Reuters)

«I believe that President Trump knows very well, better than anyone, the difference between a real deal and a better one,» she said. «He understands that this dictatorship must end.»

«To end the crisis,» she added, «we need to end the regime.»

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment and has not yet received a reply. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Russia «should not be involved» in the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, even as analysts point to Russian military activity that aligns with reports Moscow may be aiding Tehran.

«The president maintains strong relationships with world leaders, which creates opportunities and options for us in very dynamic ways,» Hegseth said when asked about President Donald Trump’s recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

But as it relates to the Middle East conflict, he added, Russia «should not be involved.»

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The administration’s messaging comes amid reports that Russia has provided information that could help Iran identify U.S. military assets in the Middle East, including warships and aircraft. Moscow has not publicly confirmed the claims. 

Intelligence assessments have reportedly said Russia provided Iran with information that could help identify the locations of American warships, aircraft and other military assets in the Middle East. Officials reportedly stressed there is no public evidence that Moscow is directing Iranian strikes, but said the information could assist Tehran’s targeting efforts.

The scope, timing and operational impact of that information have not been publicly detailed.

While there is no public evidence definitively proving Russia is providing real-time targeting data, George Barros, a Russia expert at the Institute for the Study of War, said open-source indicators are consistent with the type of support described in the reports.

Barros pointed to Russian military reconnaissance satellites, including Cosmos-2550, a radar and electronic signature spacecraft that recently passed over the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea — areas where U.S. forces have been operating.

«They’re specialized for naval reconnaissance and detecting ships, because the radar signature off the water really pings it quite well,» Barros said. «These are known capabilities of the Russians.»

Such radar systems can detect maritime targets and electronic emissions that reveal force positioning. Barros said those capabilities align with known gaps in Iran’s own space-based intelligence collection.

Although he cautioned that he does not have dispositive proof of real-time targeting support, Barros said the convergence of Russian reconnaissance capabilities, satellite positioning and reported cooperation «makes total sense.»

Trump on Monday described his recent conversation with Putin as «very good» and «constructive,» saying the Russian leader «wants to be very constructive.» Trump suggested Moscow could be more helpful by helping bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, acknowledged over the weekend that Russia is assisting Iran «in many different directions» in its war with the United States and Israel. Pressed on whether that includes intelligence sharing, Araghchi said, «They are helping us in many different directions,» but added, «I don’t have any detailed information.»

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Beyond intelligence collection, analysts say battlefield patterns suggest tactical cross-pollination between Russia and Iran. 

Iran’s foreign minister acknowledged over the weekend that Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, pictured here, is assisting Tehran «in many different directions» in its war with the United States and Israel.  (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

During the war in Ukraine, Iran supplied Russia with Shahed one-way attack drones, which Moscow deployed extensively against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Over time, Russian forces refined strike packages combining drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to overwhelm integrated Western air defense systems.

«The Russians got really, really good at learning how to launch drones against integrated Western air defense systems,» Barros said.

Those lessons, he said, appear to have informed Iranian strike tactics in the Middle East, where Tehran has launched large-scale combined missile and drone attacks against U.S. and allied targets.

If confirmed, Barros argued, intelligence sharing that materially supports Iranian targeting would amount to Moscow acting as a «co-belligerent.»

«The Russians are coming out with Iran as a co-belligerent,» he said, adding that the Kremlin has long viewed the United States as a geopolitical adversary.

At the same time, Russia remains constrained in how far it can go. 

Russian ground forces are tied down in Ukraine and are not in a position to deploy troops to assist Iran. Analysts say any Russian support is far more likely to come in the form of intelligence sharing, technology transfers or drone production rather than boots on the ground.

A drone hits an apartment building in Kyiv during Russia’s attack on Ukraine in December 2025. «The Russians got really, really good at learning how to launch drones against integrated Western air defense systems,» Russia expert George Barros says.  (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

One potential avenue involves drone manufacturing.

Russia operates large-scale Shahed-derived drone production facilities that were initially enabled by Iranian technology transfers. If Iran’s domestic drone factories are degraded by strikes, Russian production could theoretically help sustain Tehran’s aerial campaign, though there is no confirmed evidence that such transfers are occurring.

Defense officials have publicly downplayed the operational impact of any reported Russian assistance, saying U.S. commanders are tracking foreign intelligence activity and factoring it into planning.

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The contrast between Trump’s characterization of Putin as «constructive» and Hegseth’s warning that Russia should stay out of the conflict underscores the delicate balance the administration is attempting to strike — pursuing diplomacy in Ukraine while confronting the possibility of deeper cooperation between Moscow and Tehran in the Middle East.

For now, analysts say the evidence stops short of conclusive proof. But the alignment of Russian reconnaissance capabilities, battlefield tactics refined in Ukraine and Tehran’s own acknowledgment of assistance has intensified scrutiny of Moscow’s role as the regional war unfolds.

Russia has not publicly responded to the allegation of intelligence sharing with Iran, but has broadly called for de-escalation of the conflict. 

The Russian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.

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