According to internal US officials, the Trump administration is actively pursuing a strategy to accelerate the collapse of Cuba’s communist government by year’s end—a move framed as a direct response to recent developments in Venezuela.

The administration aims to identify key Cuban government figures sympathetic to American interests, building on its successful intervention in Venezuela where U.S.-backed forces removed authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. Officials describe Cuba’s current economic instability as the critical catalyst for action: chronic shortages of essential goods and medicines, frequent power outages, and an imminent fuel crisis—exacerbated by Cuba’s dependence on Venezuelan oil—are now seen as vulnerabilities the administration seeks to exploit.

Trump has explicitly warned that “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA,” urging rapid negotiations with Cuban leadership to end nearly seven decades of communist rule. While some Trump allies and Florida-based Cuban exiles advocate an aggressive regime change approach, others within the administration acknowledge past failures—including the 1962 trade embargo and the Bay of Pigs invasion—emphasizing that Cuba’s single-party structure, absence of political opposition, and history of violent suppression of protests since 1994 present unique challenges.

U.S. officials stress that Venezuela’s emergence as a nation with organized anti-Maduro factions contrasts sharply with Cuba’s repressive environment, making regime change significantly more complex. Yet the administration insists ending Fidel Castro’s legacy would cement its foreign policy legacy—positioning itself against President John F. Kennedy’s unsuccessful efforts to remove the Cuban leader. Internal discussions increasingly signal an openness to pursuing a swift conclusion to Cuba’s communist rule, despite warnings of potential humanitarian consequences.