Trump Admin Looking to Oust the Cuban Regime By the End of the Year: Report

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that President Donald Trump and his administration are actively working to topple the Cuban government by the end of the year, according to sources familiar with the planning.

The Journal’s exclusive report said that the “Trump administration is searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime,” suggesting the regime change would not be achieved through military force.

Trump’s arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January was widely seen as a first step in what Trump later called the “Donroe Doctrine” – his new policy of asserting U.S. dominance in the western hemisphere to push out Russian and Chinese influence.

As part of that wider goal, Trump has publicly threatened the leaders of Cuba as well as the president of Colombia, whom he had said is “next” if he doesn’t crack down on the drug lords within his country.

“I strongly suggest they make a deal. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump posted in mid-January on Truth Social, referring to Cuba. He added “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY” would be going to Cuba from Venezuela, which was a key ally and source of energy for the heavily sanctioned island nation.

Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis and mass population exodus have left the regime in a precarious position domestically. The Journal reported “Trump administration has assessed Cuba’s economy as being close to collapse and that the government has never been this fragile after losing a vital benefactor in Maduro, these people said.”

“Officials don’t have a concrete plan to end the Communist government that has held power on the Caribbean island for almost seven decades, but they see Maduro’s capture and subsequent concessions from his allies left behind as a blueprint and a warning for Cuba, senior U.S. officials said,” concluded the Journal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is a Cuban-American, has long called for regime change in Cuba and is believed to be a driving force behind efforts to remove the regime and bring in a pro-democracy and capitalist government.

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