Tim Pierce

That's right.

It feels like there's real movement here.

It's now been over two months since the arrest of Venezuela's Maduro, which cut Cuba off from its number one supplier of fuel.

There are now signs that Cuban society has started to fracture, and Cuba's communist regime seems worried about its future unless the U.S.

lifts its oil embargo.

Morning Wire spoke to American University professor William Leo Grand.

He's an expert on U.S.

foreign policy toward Cuba.

Here's what he said about the situation.

And that's after months of economic pressure from Washington.

Some of that frustration erupted over the weekend with protesters torching the Communist Party's headquarters.

And late last week, Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canal, made an extraordinary statement about ongoing talks with Washington to lift the embargo, a clear sign that he is worried.

Now, I imagine the Cuban government doesn't appreciate their offices being torched.

So what kind of actions are they taking to quell this kind of thing?

Yeah, well, the government is at a weak point right now.

Leo Grant said the chances of protests actually toppling the government are still small.

Those protesters who burn the Communist Party headquarters could face stiff penalties from the government.

So the Cuban regime has done a good job at keeping domestic opposition too fragmented to represent much of a threat right now.

Now, in terms of the negotiations, what would it take for President Trump to lift the embargo and allow oil back to Cuba?

That's not entirely clear, but Diaz-Canal has suggested he is willing to negotiate.