MEXICO CITY (CN) - In her Friday press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to President Donald Trump's Thursday executive order declaring a national emergency imposing tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, leaving Mexico in a delicate balancing act and Cuba in a potential free-fall.
Sheinbaum warned of a potential humanitarian crisis if Mexico cuts oil shipments to Cuba, after Mexico replaced Venezuela as its top supplier following the U.S. military's Jan. 3 capture of President Nicolas Maduro and takeover of Venezuela's energy sector.
"Applying tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba could trigger a far-reaching humanitarian crisis, directly affecting hospitals, food and other basic services for the Cuban people, a situation that must be avoided," she said Friday. "We will seek a way, without putting Mexico at risk, of course, but always seeking solidarity with the Cuban people."
Sheinbaum vowed her government would contact the U.S. State Department to clarify the scope of Trump's threat, in hopes of continuing to deliver oil to the country under humanitarian aid.
"There are two channels through which oil is delivered to Cuba. One is through contracts established by Pemex with a Cuban government institution, and the other is humanitarian aid, which also includes oil deliveries, along with other goods sent as humanitarian assistance," Sheinbaum said on Thursday.
She said she had a productive call with Trump on Thursday about security and trade, but did not address his executive order on oil shipments to the island.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla condemned the executive order Friday, calling it an escalation and a total blockade of the island's fuel supply.
"The US government is also resorting to blackmail and coercion in an attempt to make other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba; and if they refuse to do so, it is threatening to apply arbitrary and abusive tariffs in violation of all free trade rules," read Rodriguez Parrilla's statement on X.
On Thursday, Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez signed an oil reform law opening the country's nationalized reserves to foreign companies and international litigation.
At a Tuesday press conference, Sheinbaum said PEMEX - Mexico's state owned oil company - had temporarily suspended oil shipments to Cuba, calling it a sovereign decision.
A report by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity said Mexico's most recent shipment, around 88,000 barrels, arrived in Cuba on Jan. 9, and that no oil has arrived from other countries since.
Mexican fuel and oil shipments to Cuba have spiked during Sheinbaum's presidency, according to the organization.
It reported that between May and August 2025, a PEMEX subsidiary sent $3 billion worth of gasoline, diesel and oil to Cuba in a total of 58 shipments - tripling the one-year totals of all the previous six years in five months.
Source: Courthouse News Service
