The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated this Friday that her Government will look for “different alternatives” to support the Cuban people, following the United States’ decision to impose tariffs on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, and warned that this measure could “trigger a far-reaching humanitarian crisis” on the island.
“Mexico will look for different alternatives, obviously also in the defense of Mexico, obviously, to help in a humanitarian way the Cuban people who are going through a difficult time in line with what has historically been our tradition of solidarity and international respect,” said the president during her morning press conference from the city of Tijuana.
Sheinbaum also warned that these tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump could “trigger a far-reaching humanitarian crisis, directly affecting hospitals, food and other basic services of the Cuban people.”
Trump declares a “national emergency” and threatens tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba
The Mexican leader’s reaction occurs a day after Trump signed the executive order, arguing that aid to the island “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
Given this scenario, the Mexican president instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to establish immediate contact with the US Government, with the aim of knowing precisely the scope of the decree published by Trump.
“And also make it known that we must prevent a humanitarian crisis for the Cuban people,” he said.
Likewise, Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico will maintain its historical position of solidarity with the island and explained that it will seek to resolve the problem through diplomatic channels.
He also recalled that the United States sends humanitarian aid to Cuba with food and supplies, so Mexico will also seek, without putting the country at risk, to show its solidarity with the island.
“I have asked Secretary (Juan Ramón) De la Fuente to speak with the State Department to find out the scope and let the United States government know what a humanitarian crisis would mean and above all our solidarity always with the Cuban people, which is the most important thing,” he added.
The executive order signed on Thursday by Donald Trump, which establishes that he may impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, occurs when the island is already in an extreme situation.
In the absence of public figures, different independent calculations estimate that Cuba currently requires about 110,000 barrels of oil per day.
Of these, just over 40,000 per day are obtained from wells on the north coast of the island. Cuba must import the remaining 70,000, although the lack of foreign currency means that this figure is not reached, causing blackouts and fuel shortages).
At the end of 2025, Mexico became the main supplier of oil to Cuba after the collapse of exports from Venezuela.
