Mexico halts oil shipments to Cuba to avoid threatened US tariffs

Yesterday 09:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Mexico halts oil shipments to Cuba to avoid threatened US tariffs

Mexico has suspended its oil deliveries to Cuba to avoid potential US tariffs threatened by the Trump administration, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday, describing the American sanctions as deeply unfair and warning they would further suffocate an island already facing severe economic distress.

Speaking at her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said penalties targeting countries that supply oil to Cuba unjustly harm ordinary people rather than governments. She argued that such measures amount to collective punishment and would only worsen conditions for Cubans struggling with shortages and economic hardship. Mexico’s decision, she explained, was driven by the need to shield its own exports from punitive trade measures while continuing to oppose the policy behind them.

Mexico had emerged as Cuba’s main oil supplier after Venezuelan shipments stopped earlier this year following a US military operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro on January 3. Before that disruption, Venezuela had been supplying about 26,500 barrels of oil per day to Cuba, accounting for nearly half of the island’s total petroleum imports. Mexico stepped in to partially fill the gap, providing roughly 12,000 barrels per day, which represented about 44 percent of Cuba’s crude oil imports in 2025.

The suspension follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 29 that declared Cuba an unusual and extraordinary threat to US national security. The order authorizes tariffs on goods from any country that supplies oil to the island. It took effect the following day, granting the US secretaries of commerce and state the authority to determine the scope and severity of the penalties, although it did not specify exact tariff rates.

Mexico’s state-owned energy company, Petróleos Mexicanos, had supplied Cuba with crude oil and refined petroleum products worth an estimated $496 million in 2025 under a commercial agreement in place since 2023, according to Pemex chief executive Víctor Rodríguez. The most recent shipment from Mexico arrived in Havana on January 9, shortly before the new US measures came into force.

While halting oil exports, Mexico has sought alternative ways to support Cuba. On Sunday, two Mexican navy logistics vessels carrying more than 814 tonnes of humanitarian aid departed the port of Veracruz bound for the island. The ships, Papaloapan and Isla Holbox, were loaded with basic food supplies, powdered milk and personal hygiene products and are expected to arrive within four days.

Sheinbaum said Mexico is pursuing diplomatic talks with Washington in hopes of reaching an arrangement that would allow oil exports to Cuba to resume without triggering US tariffs. She insisted that Mexico would continue to support the Cuban people and exhaust all diplomatic channels to restore energy supplies to Havana.

The halt in Mexican oil shipments comes as Cuba grapples with its most severe energy crisis in a decade. The island recorded no oil imports for an entire month for the first time in years, according to Bloomberg. Since late 2024, repeated nationwide power outages have disrupted daily life, with the state electricity provider Unión Eléctrica de Cuba generating only about half of the power required last year. Eastern provinces experienced another widespread blackout last week before being reconnected to the national grid.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has described the situation as complex and blamed the United States for pursuing what he called an aggressive and criminal policy. He said the pressure has had far-reaching effects on transportation, hospitals, schools and food production, compounding the difficulties faced by an economy already under strain.