US Seeks Cuban Insiders for Regime Change Push

The United States is actively seeking insiders within the Cuban government to facilitate a potential regime change by the end of the year, according to US officials familiar with the discussions. This effort, centered in Washington and Miami, comes as Cuba grapples with its most severe economic crisis in decades, exacerbated by the recent ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the subsequent cutoff of subsidized oil shipments from Venezuela.

US officials have held meetings with Cuban exiles and civic groups in recent weeks to identify government figures in Havana who might be willing to negotiate a transition away from the communist leadership that has ruled the island for nearly 70 years. While no detailed plan exists yet, the administration views the January 3 US military operation that captured Maduro as a model, noting that it succeeded with assistance from a defector in his inner circle. Officials believe Cuba's economy is on the brink of collapse, with chronic shortages of fuel, food, and medicine, alongside frequent blackouts that have disrupted daily life and even state media broadcasts.

Cuba relies on about 100,000 barrels of oil per day to maintain basic...