Madrid/Up to seven senior managers of Pemex plus the Secretary of Energy appeared this Wednesday in the usual morning conference of the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and none of them answered the question that remains in the air: how Cuba pays for the oil that the North American country sends it, which since 2023 has a value of – they stated – about 1.4 billion dollars.
The general director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, maintained that the only agreement that exists with Cuba was signed in 2023 and is “a normal commercial contract” like any of those that have been signed with the more than 50 countries to which they sell crude oil. “Let me give you the information on how much sales to the Island represent for us: last year it was less than 1% of crude oil production, and in terms of the sale we have of oil products, it is 0.1% of Pemex sales, that is, it is very, very little,” defended the manager, who alluded to humanitarian and commercial reasons for this exchange.
“The contract is open, it is based on their needs; they request us based on our availability, but let me clarify something: in general Pemex exports are decreasing,” Rodríguez Padilla added.
The press then began to insist on the main doubts: how much money is that “little bit” and how is it paid?
The press then began to insist on the main doubts: how much money is that “little bit” and how is it paid. Last year, the total amount – between crude oil and oil products – amounted to 496 million dollars, explained the manager, who insisted that this information is public and is delivered to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “What later appears in the press are estimates, speculations, but the official data is public, you can consult it on the site.”
The manager stated that this amount has been maintained with relative stability – “because the contract is very stable,” he stressed –, although in 2023 it was somewhat lower, at 367 million dollars, possibly – although he did not mention it – because shipments began late in the year.
A question without a microphone then resounded in the auditorium: “Do they pay?” “Of course they pay us! Well, we have a business relationship, what do you think?” Rodríguez Padilla snapped.
The disbelief was evident, since there was a cascade of questions related to this supposed compliance. “If you ask me if Cuba is paying for its shipments, of course it is, we do not have any overdue invoices regarding the contract,” the manager continued. “Has Cuba paid absolutely everything?” the journalists insisted. “According to the contract, yes, we do not have any invoice [pendiente] with them. “They are very formal in their payments,” he said, although it has never been proven that these payments exist nor have invoices been shown.
Knowing Havana’s history of non-compliance, reporters continued to question the words of Pemex’s senior staff, so Sheinbaum had to intervene. “At some point crude oil was sold in a humane manner… But they are paying with open credits. It is paid according to the contract,” he tried to settle.
Knowing Havana’s history of non-compliance, reporters continued to question the words of Pemex’s senior staff.
The media then asked again about the aforementioned humanitarian aid, which, according to the president, was a minor issue. “It is much more for contract than for humanitarian aid. And we repeat: last year it was just over four million dollars. I mean, so much exaggeration…” he said.
The president then entered into other collaborations that exist between both governments and which, she guaranteed, are done correctly. “The Cuban doctors who are here are paid to the Cuban doctors. They then say that they are exploited and that… No, they are paid what they should be paid, and they come to Mexico because they are needed in Mexico. Some medicines are bought, vaccines were bought and they are paid. They are contracts, like we have contracts with many other countries, and also how humanitarian aid is given to the whole world… Wherever they need us, we will be there because Mexico is a country of solidarity,” he stated.
But despite the explanations, the Mexican press did not see it clearly and insisted on another key issue: the existence of the subsidiary Gasolina Bienestar, SA de CV, originally created to provide service to indigenous communities and through which oil deliveries are made in Cuba. It is not the first time that Sheinbaum responded to these questions, since Already in December he categorically denied that the company had been created to trade with the Island.
“That decision was made. [la de usar la filial para esos intercambios]. There is nothing hidden, there is nothing dark, there is nothing bad being done. “Mexico has always supported Cuba, even in the most authoritarian governments (in Mexico),” stressed the president, who, when asked about the reasons for cooperating with a regime without separation of power or plural elections, snapped. “Well, that is your opinion. There are other different opinions and we respect them a lot. You can support the Cuban regime or not, but the Cuban people are the Cuban people, and Mexico does not abandon anyone.”
Beyond the past, the Mexican media was insistent on the crucial question of these days: whether Mexico will continue providing oil at a time when the United States has stated that it will not allow any country to do so. “If we have availability, yes, but as I have told you, our exports are being reduced… Starting next March we are reducing our export contracts,” argued the Pemex manager.
According to the latest Pemex report, corresponding to the first nine months of 2025, the export volume was 17,200 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), although the decrease in recent months makes the year-end estimate – not officially confirmed – around 12,000 bpd. The last of them arrived on the Island on January 9, aboard the Ocean Marinerwith 86,000 barrels, since the next shipment, supposedly scheduled to arrive at the end of that month, was canceled due to – Sheinbaum alleged – a business decision. The president is trying these days, according to her own version, to negotiate with the United States to be able to continue sending oil without reprisals.
According to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), during the 31-year period from January 1993 to September 2024, oil worth 841.9 million dollars was exported to Cuba, while just 13 months of the Sheinbaum Administration (October 2024 to November 2025) the Island received Mexican crude oil worth more than 1.1 billion dollars.
