They are working to identify somebody inside the current government who will want to cut a deal, just as they did with Maduro, one U.S. official told the Wall Street Journal.
January 22, 2026

Now that they've booted Maduro, the Trump administration is scouting around for Cuban government insiders who can help push out the current regime, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.

Cuba’s fragile economy was largely propped up by aid from Maduro, these people said. MAGA geniuses don't have an actual plan, but they see Maduro’s capture and subsequent concessions from his allies left behind as a blueprint and a warning for Cuba.

“I strongly suggest they make a deal. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” President Trump stated in a Jan. 11 social-media post in which he said “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY” would be going to Cuba.

In meetings with Cuban exiles and civic groups in Miami and Washington, they have focused on identifying somebody inside the current government who will see the writing on the wall and want to cut a deal, just as they did with Maduro, one U.S. official said.

The U.S. hasn’t publicly threatened to use military force in Cuba (yet), Trump officials say the raid that extracted Maduro should serve as an implicit threat to Havana.

China has begun delivering 30,000 tons of rice to Cuba as part of a new emergency aid program, amid severe food and fuel shortages. The first shipment arrived Monday, with a second reaching the Port of Santiago de Cuba today; additional shipments are expected to depart from China shortly.

Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.onestnetwork.com) 2026-01-21T05:17:35.140Z

He's throwing that chemical weapon at Minneapolis council member Jason Chavez.

Sandhya Dirks (@audiosand.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T00:26:17.199Z

Meanwhile, U.S. Members of Congress appeared alongside George Simion, leader of Romania’s far-right AUR—a figure widely criticized for pro-Russian rhetoric and positions—while cutting a Greenland-shaped cake decorated with a U.S. flag.

Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.onestnetwork.com) 2026-01-21T12:46:04.556Z

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