The US plans to change the government in Cuba by the end of the year.

ArmInfo. The administration of US President Donald Trump is searching for people within the Cuban government who can help overthrow the current political regime in the republic by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources.

"Encouraged by the US overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration is seeking people close to the Cuban government who could help broker a deal to topple the communist regime by the end of the year," the report states.

According to the publication, the US administration believes that Cuba's economy is now "on the brink of collapse" and the government is "more vulnerable than ever" after the loss of a key patron in Maduro.

The sources emphasized that officials "have no specific plan" to overthrow the Cuban government, but "Maduro's capture and subsequent concessions from his allies" are viewed as a "warning to Cuba."

On Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that reaching any understanding between Havana and Washington under duress is impossible.

"No capitulation or surrender, nor any understanding based on coercion or intimidation, is possible. Cuba will never make any political concessions. Cuba is ready to negotiate an understanding with the United States based on equality and respect," EFE quoted him as saying.

Since the operation to capture Maduro, the US president has repeatedly stated that Cuba could be one of his next targets. The current US Secretary of State is Marco Rubio, born to Cuban parents forced to flee the country after the 1959 revolution. (INTERFAX)