Mexico’s president says Trump’s tariffs on Cuba’s oil suppliers could trigger humanitarian crisis | Cuba
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has warned that Donald Trump’s move to impose new tariffs on countries sending oil to Cuba could trigger a humanitarian crisis on the island, which already suffers from chronic fuel shortages and regular power outages.
The US president signed an executive order on Thursday declaring a national emergency, setting the stage for such tariffs and increasing pressure to oust the communist government in Havana.
A. White House statement He cited the Cuban government’s alleged ties to Russia, Hamas and Hezbollah to explain the new tariffs. While Mexico’s name was not mentioned in the statement, the Sheinbaum government largest oil supplier It has reached the island since 2025, leaving Russia and Venezuela behind.
Sheinbaum said Friday that his government would seek more information from the U.S. State Department about the tariffs and look for alternative ways to provide humanitarian aid to the Cuban people.
“Of course we will look for a way to be in solidarity with the Cuban people, but without putting Mexico at risk,” he told reporters.
The new tariff policy comes as Cuba struggles with increasingly severe power outages. Sheinbaum said the tariffs “could directly impact hospitals, food supplies and other essential services to the Cuban people.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said: a post on x He said Trump was trying to “stifle” the island’s economy and that the tariffs revealed “the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of a clique that has usurped the interests of the American people purely for personal gain.”
Cuba’s situation has become even more precarious since the United States captured Nicolás Maduro, a key ally of the government in Havana, and transferred him from Venezuela at the beginning of the year.
A week later, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!”
In the Financial Times on Thursday reported a prediction It is stated that Cuba only has enough oil for 15 to 20 days at current demand and domestic production levels and may soon face harsh rationing.
Sheinbaum’s comments come after a week of increasing threats from Washington. US officials gave information that warships could be deployed off the coast of Cuba and said that efforts to find Cuban ministers ready to cooperate with the US are continuing.
Speaking on Wednesday, US Charge d’Affaires in Havana Mike Hammer said: “Cubans have been complaining about the ‘blockade’ for years, but now there will be a real blockade.”
The issue of oil shipments to Cuba is a concern for Sheinbaum, who is trying to show the Trump administration that Mexico is a partner on trade and security without alienating the left wing of his party, Morena.
Just as the two countries began renegotiating the trillion-dollar USMCA North American free trade agreement, the Trump administration recently repeated threats of unilateral military strikes against drug trafficking cartels in Mexico.
Blackouts of 12 hours a day have become commonplace in Havana. Many Cuban families have difficulty cooking, struggling to find gas cylinders and resorting to cooking over charcoal.
But Jorge Piñon, an expert on Cuban energy at the University of Texas, said the situation has the potential to get more serious.
“If we don’t see any deliveries of crude oil or fuel in the next six to eight weeks, then the government will have a major crisis on its hands,” he said.
