Trump Seeks Cuban Officials to End Communist Rule by 2026
Are US sanctions starving Cubans to force regime change or is the communist regime using sanctions as a scapegoat for repression?
Above: A Cuban soldier waves a national flag as he takes part in a protest in front of the U.S. Embassy against the U.S. incursion in Venezuela in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 16. Image credit: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
U.S. sanctions deliberately target ordinary Cubans with the explicit goal of creating hunger and desperation to force regime change. The embargo has strangled Cuba's economy for over 60 years, blocking access to food, medicine and basic supplies while social media campaigns coordinated from Miami manipulate protests to serve Washington's interventionist agenda.
Right narrative
Cuba's communist regime uses American sanctions as a convenient scapegoat for decades of economic mismanagement and brutal repression. The totalitarian government maintains power through KGB-trained violence, mass arrests and secret trials while serving as a base for Russian and Chinese military operations just 90 miles from Florida.
