Wall Street Journal: Trump Seeks to Change Cuba’s Leadership
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Donald Trump, the current President of the United States, has initiated efforts to change Cuba’s political leadership, with the primary goal being to remove the country’s leader from power.
According to the report, Trump and his close circle are aiming to identify influential Cuban officials who might be willing to cooperate with Washington in a “deal” to change the leadership in Havana. However, U.S. officials admitted that there is no concrete or practical plan for Cuba’s future so far.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, noted that the recent U.S. military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, is regarded as a “model and warning” for Cuba; an action sending a clear message about the kind of pressure Washington could potentially apply to the country’s leadership.
One U.S. official said that meetings have been held in Miami and Washington D.C. with Cuban exiles and civil groups to identify a government official inside Cuba who might be inclined to make a deal with the United States.
Donald Trump has also openly threatened Cuba. Earlier this month, he wrote on the social network Truth Social: “I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late.”
Meanwhile, Ricardo Zuniga, a former Obama administration official involved in the short-term reconciliation talks between Washington and Havana from 2014 to 2017, said that Cuba’s leadership is a “much tougher target” compared to Venezuela.
He told the Wall Street Journal that there is “no one within Cuba’s power structure who is tempted to work alongside the United States.”
Efforts to overthrow Cuba’s leadership have a history spanning several decades, and since the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, it has consistently been part of some American politicians’ agendas.
