▲ For years, Mexican governments have sent crude oil to Havana. The action is framed as humanitarian aid and foreign policy principles.Photo Afp
Reuters and The Editorial Board
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, January 24, 2026, p. 6
The Mexican government is evaluating the possibility of continuing to send oil to Cuba in the face of growing fear within the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum that Mexico could face retaliation from the United States for this policy, vital for the Caribbean island, according to three sources familiar with the conversations.
Given this, the Presidency of the Republic only responded that “Mexico has always been in solidarity with the people of Cuba” and added that the shipment of oil to Cuba and a separate agreement to pay for the services of Cuban doctors “are sovereign decisions.” The Ministry of Energy spoke in a similar tone when consulted and the Cuban government did not respond to a request for comments.
The statements came after it became known that Donald Trump’s government is considering imposing a total blockade on oil imports from Cuba, as part of possible new tactics to promote a change of leadership on the island. This was reported by the American media Politicalciting three people familiar with the plan and whose information was taken up by the Reuters agency.
The US blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers in December and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro this month have halted shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, leaving Mexico as the largest supplier to the island, which suffers from energy shortages causing massive blackouts.
President Trump has emphasized that Cuba is “ready to fall,” declaring in a Jan. 11 Truth Social post: “There will be no more oil or money for Cuba! Zero!”
Sheinbaum has publicly stated that Mexico will continue oil shipments to Cuba, arguing that they are based on long-term contracts and are considered international aid, in addition to being framed in the constitutional principles of Mexican foreign policy.
Likewise, last Wednesday he rejected that the supply of oil to Cuba implies a contradiction with the historical defense of national energy resources. “Mexico is a sovereign country and makes its decisions,” he emphasized.
“Of what is produced (crude oil in Mexico), very little is sent (to Cuba), it is solidarity support for a situation of hardship, of difficulty,” defended Sheinbaum. “That doesn’t have to go away.”
However, three high-ranking Mexican government sources indicated that the policy is under internal review, as concerns are growing in Sheinbaum’s cabinet that it could antagonize Trump.
In the Sheinbaum government, according to the three sources, there is a belief that Washington’s strategy of cutting off oil supplies to Cuba could lead the country to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, causing mass migration to Mexico. For this reason, they added, some members of the government are pressing to maintain the supply.
Between January and September 2025, Mexico sent 17,200 barrels a day of crude oil and two thousand barrels of refined petroleum products to Cuba for an approximate value of $400 million, according to information reported by the Mexican state oil company Pemex to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
