The Trump administration has launched a covert strategic initiative to dismantle Cuba’s Communist government by the end of 2026, aiming to replicate the recent success of its intervention in Venezuela. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, senior U.S. officials are actively searching for disaffected insiders within Havana’s ruling elite who could be persuaded to broker a deal and push out the current leadership.
Emboldened by the dramatic January 3 capture and ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—a move that severed Cuba’s primary economic lifeline—the White House believes the island’s regime is more vulnerable now than at any point in decades. Without Venezuelan oil and cash, Cuba is facing catastrophic shortages and daily power blackouts, creating what U.S. strategists view as a “terminal crisis” for President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Journal that the administration is looking for pragmatists within the Cuban military and intelligence services who “see the writing on the wall.” The goal is to negotiate a transfer of power that avoids a bloody civil war but ensures the end of Communist rule.
President Trump previewed this pressure campaign on January 11 via Truth Social, issuing a stark ultimatum to Havana: “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He explicitly confirmed the economic strangulation strategy, adding, “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long-time hawk on Cuba, is reportedly a key architect of this “maximum pressure” phase. The administration is betting that the combination of total economic blockade and the psychological shock of Maduro’s fall will fracture the loyalty of the Cuban security state, allowing Washington to cut a deal with defectors to topple the system from within.
Footage Charlie Kirk has been shot
Charlie Kirk has been shot
