Mexico Mulls Ending Oil Shipments to Cuba

The Mexican government is reviewing whether to continue sending oil to Cuba amid growing concerns within President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration that Mexico could face reprisals from the United States over the policy, which serves as a vital lifeline for the island, sources told Diego Oré of the Associated Press (AP).

Publicly, Sheinbaum has said Mexico will continue oil shipments to Cuba, describing them as long-standing contractual obligations and a form of international aid. (Photo: Presidencia de la República Mexicana)

A US blockade of oil tankers in Venezuela in December and the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro this month have halted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, leaving Mexico as the single-largest supplier to the island, which suffers from chronic energy shortages and mass blackouts.

Publicly, Sheinbaum has said Mexico will continue oil shipments to Cuba, describing them as long-standing contractual obligations and a form of international aid.

However, senior Mexican government sources said the policy is under internal review as anxiety grows within Sheinbaum’s cabinet that the shipments could antagonize President Trump.

Mexico is simultaneously seeking to renegotiate aspects of the USMCA trade pact while persuading Washington that it is doing enough to combat drug cartels — and that US military action on Mexican territory is neither welcome nor necessary.