Is Cuba Next? Inside Washington’s Push for Regime Change

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

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🗓️ 1 February 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

Cuba is at a breaking point. From severe fuel shortages to a public health crisis, the island’s economic distress has reached a fever pitch. Now, the Trump administration believes it has the leverage to do what others couldn't: force regime change. This week, Luke Vargas explores the mechanics of this renewed pressure campaign and America’s power projection abroad with WSJ’s José de Córdoba in Mexico and Vera Bergengruen in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	I think the potential of Agenic is to rethink how work gets done overall.
0:05.0	It challenges all sorts of traditional orthodoxies around how organizations execute the work at hand.
0:11.3	That's Jason Gersatus, CEO of Deloitte U.S., talking about the transformational potential of A.Gentic AI.
0:17.9	Join him later to learn why agents are a game changer for businesses across industries.
0:25.9	Hey, What's News listeners. It's Sunday, February 1st. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street
0:30.4	Journal, and this is What's News Sunday, the show where we tackle the big questions about the biggest
0:35.4	stories in the news by reaching out to our colleagues
0:37.7	across the newsroom to help explain what's happening in our world. On today's show, after toppling
0:43.2	Venezuela's leader, the Trump administration is now seeking regime change in Cuba by the end of the
0:49.5	year. Today, we'll be looking at the dire economic situation. Washington believes could drive the island to the breaking point.
0:56.7	And what else is fueling the thinking in Washington that now is the right time to dislodge a communist government that has weathered decades of external pressure?
1:05.2	Let's get right to it.
1:07.2	Joining me today as we set our sights on Cuba are a pair of Wall Street Journal reporters
1:11.9	fixated on America's power projection abroad. On the line from Mexico City is Jose de Cordoba,
1:18.5	and with us from Washington, D.C. is Vera Bergen-Gruin. Jose, let me start with you. We have all
1:24.6	seen the footage of mid-century cars rolling down the beachfront in
1:28.6	Havana, probably an overused visual when it comes to understanding the economic situation in
1:34.5	particular in modern Cuba, though maybe not totally unhelpful. What should we be focusing on when it
1:40.5	comes to the island? Paint us a scene of what has been unfolding there. Well, Qua is in its worst economic crisis, probably since it became an independent republic in 1902.
1:52.8	Blackouts last in the provinces for 20 hours at a time. On top of that, you have huge scarcity of medicines, all kinds of goods, and food.
2:04.9	People have access to food only if they have access to dollars, which are sent from family
2:11.2	members abroad. Also, it's been hit by these mosquito-borne illnesses that have affected a lot of the population.
	...

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