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Donald J. Trump has elevated regime change in Cuba to a cornerstone of U.S. regional policy, framing it as essential to national security. Public documents, including a January 29, 2026, Executive Order, declare Cuba's alliances with Russia, China, Iran, and groups like Hamas and Hezbollah as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. interests. This order invokes emergency powers to impose tariffs on nations supplying oil to Havana, aiming to starve the regime of resources and force a political transition by year's end.
Trump's rhetoric has been direct and unyielding. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, echoed this during Senate testimony, stating that regime change is a precondition for lifting the embargo under the Helms-Burton Act. Rubio has openly said the administration would "love" to see regime change, hinting at intensified pressure following Maduro's ouster in Venezuela, which severed Cuba's subsidized oil lifeline. Other officials, like Senator Lindsey Graham, predict the dictatorship's fall, arguing economic isolation will cement Trump's legacy.
These statements paint a picture of active negotiations to end 67 years of communist rule, with U.S. officials claiming back-channel talks with Cuban insiders willing to "push out the regime." Yet, top Cuban figures vehemently deny any such dialogue. Cuba’s hand-picked dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel has repeatedly asserted no talks are underway, insisting relations must advance "based on international law rather than hostility, threats, and economic coercion." On February 5, 2026, Díaz-Canel appeared in a pre-recorded and heavily edited “press conference” aired by state media, dressed head-to-toe in black as if in mourning—while blaming the U.S. for an “energy blockade.”
The Trump administration's executive orders, national security memorandums, and State Department objectives represent a bold, necessary pivot toward dismantling Cuba's communist dictatorship. This isn't mere posturing—it's a strategic imperative rooted in decades of evidence that half-hearted engagement only prolongs tyranny. Socialism, as the renowned Hungarian economist János Kornai emphatically stated, is irreformable: attempts at “reforming” socialism inevitably falter due to inherent contradictions.
Cuba's chronic crises—rampant poverty, shortages, and repression—are not accidents but deliberate outcomes of a politically induced system plagued by ethical and moral decay. The regime's so-called "reforms" are superficial bandaids, designed to lure foreign investment while preserving iron-fisted control. The more recent MYPIMES (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) projects are kleptocratic attempts to transition Cuba to a Putin-style oligarchic dictatorship. The U.S. must reject these meager concessions outright. Only full-scale regime change can eradicate the root causes and restore prosperity to the Cuban people.
True sovereignty in a democratic framework means popular sovereignty, which Cubans have been denied since Fidel Castro's 1959 ideological coup. At its core, genuine sovereignty in a democratic context means the will of the people, freely expressed. Since the communist seizure of power, Cubans have been stripped of this right, living under a regime that rules through fear and coercion rather than consent. The dictatorship's shrill accusations of U.S. "violations of sovereignty" are cynical fabrications, ignoring that the true sovereigns—the Cuban nation—have been voiceless for generations. Washington should boldly disregard these false claims and act to empower the people, aligning with America's foundational values of liberty and self-determination. To do otherwise is to perpetuate a myth that benefits only the oppressors.
To dismantle this regime, the Trump-era Department of Justice must wield the full force of law. Reactivate the 1993 indictment against Raúl Castro for orchestrating drug trafficking networks that funneled cocaine through Cuba, reaping millions in illicit profits. Equally critical is pursuing charges for the 1996 cold-blooded shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes, which murdered three American citizens and a U.S. resident in international airspace—a blatant act of state-sponsored terrorism. Extend these indictments to other regime elites, bolstered by eyewitness testimonies from Colombian narco-traffickers like Carlos Lehder, who detailed personal meetings with Raúl Castro to coordinate smuggling routes. Jhon Jairo Velásquez ("Popeye") further exposed Cuba's deep entanglement in the Medellin Cartel's operations. These aren't allegations—they are corroborated facts that demand accountability, striking at the regime's criminal heart and deterring its enablers.
The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (also known as the Helms-Burton Act) provides a rock-solid legal rationale for regime change, targeting the Cuban Revolution's egregious theft of American property—valued at up to between $6 billion and $8 billion, marking it as the largest such expropriation in history. By fully activating Title III, the U.S. can sue entities profiting from stolen assets, crippling foreign complicity and isolating Havana. This isn't aggression; it's justice, rectifying a historic wrong that funded the regime's survival and underscoring that revolutions built on plunder cannot endure.
For over six decades, Cuban communism has been a breeding ground for Marxist terrorism, housing, training, and arming insurgents from one point of Latin America to the other. Not a single country in the Western Hemisphere has remained unscathed by communist subversion engineered by Castroism. This support endures today, with Havana backing narco-terror groups and subversive elements across the hemisphere. Alarmingly, many radical left-wing organizations in the U.S. serve as covert fronts for Cuban and Chinese influence, peddling propaganda and promoting subversion. Empirical evidence from declassified documents and defector accounts reveals a pattern of exported violence that has claimed thousands of lives, demanding an unyielding U.S. response to neutralize this threat.
Cuba functions as a colossal espionage outpost, posing an existential risk to American security. Trump rightly spotlighted the Lourdes signals intelligence facility—Russia's largest abroad—now augmented by Chinese spy bases and North Korean collaborations, enabling interception of U.S. communications and military secrets. Cuban operatives like Ana Belén Montes and Victor Manuel Rocha, who betrayed U.S. intelligence for decades and provided key disinformation that misled U.S. policy (these are just two examples) and caused irreparable damage. These infiltrations into key U.S. institutions highlight the regime's cunning pragmatism—successful from a dictatorial vantage, even as it fails miserably by democratic standards of popular sovereignty, human rights, and material well-being.
To choke off the regime's lifelines, impose a comprehensive quarantine or outright blockade, severing resource inflows while mitigating civilian suffering through humanitarian aid distributed via impartial channels like the Catholic Church. Immediately halt all remittances—whether cash or goods—along with travel, Obama-Biden-era business licenses, investment schemes, and any mechanisms channeling funds to Havana. These inflows, totaling billions annually, prop up the dictatorship without benefiting ordinary Cubans. Additionally, the DOJ should unleash legal arsenals against GAESA, the military conglomerate dominating Cuba's economy, by targeting its offshore entities in Panama and beyond under RICO-style statutes for racketeering. Prosecute front organizations masquerading as legitimate businesses and hold complicit nations accountable, dismantling the regime's global financial web.
Ultimately, Castro-Communism's totalitarian nature—far more pervasive than mere authoritarianism—demands nothing less than regime change. Its strategic format across the Americas, including insidious influence operations in the U.S., amplifies national security perils: espionage, terrorism sponsorship, and drug empires have cost American lives and undermined stability. Half-measures have failed. Appeasement invites escalation. By pursuing these actions, the U.S. safeguards its interests and champions freedom for 11 million Cubans and the whole of Latin America. Regime change isn't optional—it's the moral and strategic imperative of our time, ensuring a hemisphere free from communist shadows.
🖋️Author Julio M. Shiling Julio M. Shiling is a political scientist, writer, columnist, lecturer, media commentator, and director of Patria de Martí and The CubanAmerican Voice. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. He is a member of The American Political Science Association, The PEN Club (Cuban Writers in Exile Chapter) and the Academy of Cuban History in Exile.
In a decisive move that aligns with America's renewed focus on national interests, the Trump administration is reportedly pursuing regime change in Cuba, aiming to dismantle the 67-year-old communist dictatorship by the end of 2026. This policy, rooted in recent developments and strategic imperatives, represents a long-overdue correction to decades of foreign dependency and oppression on the island. By leveraging economic vulnerabilities, insider collaborations, and military presence, the U.S. is poised to restore true sovereignty to Cuba, freeing it from parasitic ties that have sustained a tyrannical regime.
The Issue of Sovereignty
At its core, Castro-Communism has never embodied genuine Cuban sovereignty. It was born and bred as a puppet of international forces. From the outset, Fidel and Raúl Castro's quest for power against Fulgencio Batista's regime was entangled with Soviet influence. Soviet espionage within the U.S. State Department was successful in disinformation promotion, enabling Moscow to bolster the rebels and obscure the fact that the Castro brothers had connections with the USSR. The American arms embargo in 1958 played a pivotal role in the January 1, 1959, takeover—more so than any rebel military triumphs. The Cuban Communist Party, established in the 1920s, was a direct offspring of global communism, fully conceived and funded by foreign ideologues.
What a difference a year makes! In his second term, President Donald J. Trump has wasted no time in steering the United States toward a renewed era of strength, prosperity, and moral clarity. Marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration on January 20, 2025, Trump's administration has delivered on promises with decisive action, fostering economic growth, restoring cultural integrity, and asserting American leadership globally.
Domestic Policy
President Trump's domestic agenda has focused on dismantling divisive ideologies and bolstering the nation's foundational principles. Central to this has been his aggressive reversal of cultural Marxism, which he views as a corrosive force undermining American society. Within months of taking office, Trump issued executive orders to shutter all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies, labeling them as discriminatory and inefficient. He extended this critique to the private sector, publicly chastising corporations that prioritize DEI over merit, encouraging a cultural shift toward fairness and productivity. Furthermore, the administration has eradicated Neo-Marxist strategies from public institutions, including Critical Race Theory, Gender Ideology, and Critical Queer Theory. Funding for these precepts—both domestically and through foreign aid—has been completely halted, redirecting resources to initiatives that promote unity and individual achievement.