"Now, the country's economy is in free fall, its electric grid is failing, millions of its citizens have left and the Cuban government is facing off against perhaps its most menacing foe: President Donald Trump. Trump has closed off Cuba's access to oil shipments, helped cripple its vital tourism industry and declared that Cuba's government is "going down for the count.""
"After years of U.S. presidents trying various economic pressure tactics to hasten the demise of the Cuban government, the Trump administration's cutoff of fuel has raised the ante drastically because oil keeps the country - from public transit to factories to farms - running. Predictions of the demise of Cuba's government have been made before, notably after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which had been Cuba's main benefactor, only to be proved wrong."
"Members of South Florida's Cuban exile community say Trump administration officials have been assuring them that the Cuban government's days are numbered. The U.S. government "has determined that Cuba must be free before the end of 2026," said Marcell Felipe, a prominent Cuban exile leader in Miami who chairs the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora and said he had met with U.S. diplomats. "This is a plan in motion.""
Cuba's economy is deteriorating sharply as the electric grid fails, millions emigrate and tourism falters. U.S. actions under President Trump have cut off oil shipments and tightened sanctions, crippling essential services and industries that depend on fuel. Oil shortages affect public transit, factories and farms, intensifying daily hardships. Cuban exile leaders in South Florida report U.S. assurances that a plan aims to end communist rule by 2026, heightening hopes among exiles. Past predictions of collapse, such as after the Soviet Union's fall, were proven wrong, but current conditions and policy pressure make government survival appear uncertain.
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