Trump says no more Venezuelan oil, money to go to Cuba
US President Donald Trump said no more Venezuelan oil or money would go to Cuba and increased pressure on the country, arguing that the communist-run island should make a deal with the US.
Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargo has left Venezuelan ports for the Caribbean nation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January during a strict U.S. oil blockade on the OPEC nation, shipping data show.
Meanwhile, Venezuela and the US are moving forward on a US$2 billion ($A3 billion) deal to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US, with proceeds deposited in accounts overseen by the US Treasury; This is an important test of the emerging relationship between Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Sunday: “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”
“Cuba lived for many years with large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela,” Trump added.
Trump did not provide details about the proposed deal.
US officials have toughened their rhetoric towards Cuba in recent weeks.
Cuba has the right to import fuel from any supplier that wants to export it, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said in a post on X on Sunday.
He also denied that Cuba had received financial or other “material” compensation for security services provided to any country.
32 members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence services were killed in the US raid on Venezuela.
Cuba said those killed were responsible for “security and defense” but did not provide details about the agreement between the two long-time allies.
Cuba relies mostly on imported crude oil and fuel purchased on the open market, supplied in smaller quantities by Venezuela and Mexico, to keep its energy generators and vehicles running.
As operational refining capacity has decreased in recent years, Venezuela’s crude oil and fuel supplies to Cuba have also fallen.
But the South American country is still the largest supplier, with 26,500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, which covers roughly 50 percent of Cuba’s oil deficit.
Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a critical supplier of alternative oil to the island, but supply remains small, shipping data show.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her country had not increased supply volumes, but given recent political events in Venezuela, Mexico had become “an important supplier of crude oil” to Cuba.
U.S. intelligence has painted a bleak picture of Cuba’s economic and political situation, but their assessments do not offer clear support for Trump’s prediction that the island is “ready to fall,” Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the classified assessments.
The CIA’s view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent power outages, trade sanctions and other problems.
The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela, an important ally for decades, could make governing even more difficult for President Miguel Diaz Canel.
