WSJ: US seeking regime change in Cuba after ousting Venezuela's Maduro

The Trump administration is looking to achieve regime change in Cuba by the end of the year, according to US officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, Report informs.

Officials familiar with the plans have apparently gained confidence that this outcome is possible for two reasons.

One, the US just launched a surgical attack on January 3 that led to the successful capture and ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who had served as the country's socialist leader since 2013.

Two, the administration now believes Cuba's economy, which is deeply entangled with Venezuela's, is very close to collapsing without Maduro in place to guarantee oil.

US intelligence analysts have said Cuba has frequent blackouts and chronic shortages of basic goods and medicines, according to people familiar with the assessments. Nearly 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Officials told The Journal that there is no concrete plan to overthrow the communist government in Cuba, which rose after Fidel Castro took over the country in 1959.

For now, the focus for the US is identifying members of the current members of the Cuban regime who are sympathetic to American interests and might want to cut a deal, The Journal reported.