Eda Peralta

On national television, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuba is at a perilous junction, and to survive, it would begin implementing some of the same rationing it put in place after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Díaz-Canel calls the U.S.

blockade of oil criminal.

How will our vital systems survive without fuel, he asks.

Cubans are tired of sacrifice, he says, but what else could they do?

If we don't sacrifice and resist, what else will we do?

Give up?

Diaz-Canel did open the door to negotiations with the Trump administration, but he said they would only happen if they were on equal footing with no pressure or preconditions.

The White House warned Cuba should be careful what it says about President Trump.

Eda Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City.