Trump officials are racing to develop secret plans to overthrow the Cuban regime by the end of the year, continuing the president’s newfound interventionist tendencies.
Those efforts so far have included meetings with exiled politicians and civil society groups in Washington, D.C., and Miami to identify potential traitors within the Cuban government and pressure points beyond the island nation’s sluggish economy, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts, which many of his grassroots supporters believe has historically distracted Washington from more pressing issues affecting everyday voters.
Trump appears to have been emboldened by his lightning-fast invasion of Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. / XNY/Star Max / GC Image
The Make America Great Again leader has reneged on that promise over the past month, bombing Nigeria, invading Venezuela, threatening to annex Greenland and Panama, and intervening in a host of other countries.
He has now also launched a new international “peace commission” initiative to promote “stability” and “legitimate governance” in conflict zones around the world. Critics denounce the body as little more than a MAGA version of the United Nations for authoritarian leaders.
Now, Trump appears intent on taking similar action against Cuba before the end of the year. /AFP/Getty
Officials familiar with the Cuban government’s plans told the Wall Street Journal that the Jan. 3 invasion of Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro was a potential blueprint for any action against the communist island nation.
The newspaper noted that Maduro’s arrest was facilitated in part by “an individual within the Venezuelan leader’s inner circle,” adding that the operation also resulted in the killing of 32 Cuban members of Maduro’s security forces.
On the same basis, MAGA is reportedly currently searching for figures within the Cuban government who may be dissatisfied with the leadership of President Miguel Díaz-Canel in order to facilitate some kind of coup.
This possibility is thought to be heightened by Cuba’s weakening economy, with US intelligence assessments reportedly demonstrating “chronic shortages of basic goods, medicines and frequent power outages”.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
“Cuba’s rulers are incompetent Marxists who have destroyed their country, and they have suffered major setbacks in supporting the Maduro regime,” a White House official told the Wall Street Journal, adding that Cuba should “make a deal before it’s too late.”