Mexico promises food support for Cuba as US stifles the island’s fuel supply

Sheinbaum says she is still negotiating with the US after Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ship oil to Havana.A young man uses his mobile phone in front of the University of Havana in Cuba [AFP]Published On 6 Feb 2026Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that her country will ship humanitarian aid to Cuba, as she continues to negotiate with United States President Donald Trump to relax the oil blockade he has imposed on the island nation.Speaking on Friday from Michoacan, Sheinbaum added that her government would be delivering the aid imminently.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3After the US attack on Venezuela, will Cuba’s economy survive?list 2 of 3Cuba denies security threat accusations as US raises pressurelist 3 of 3Cuba in contact with US, diplomat says, as Trump issues threat to block oilend of list“We are planning to send this aid, if not this weekend, then on Monday at the latest,” she said. “It is mainly food and some other supplies that they have requested.”She added that she would also continue “diplomatic efforts” with the US to restore Cuba’s access to oil, a necessary fuel to power the country’s electrical grid.But Sheinbaum acknowledged that the US has threatened to issue tariffs against any country that seeks to circumvent its energy blockade.“Obviously, we don’t want sanctions against Mexico,” she told reporters.Her remarks come after Trump issued an executive order last week declaring that Cuba’s communist government constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US, thereby requiring a national emergency declaration.Trump cited reports of human rights violations on the island, the mass exodus of migrants and asylum seekers from Cuba, and the country’s ties to Russia, China and Iran.As part of Trump’s declaration, his administration pledged to impose tariffs on any country that “provides any oil to Cuba”, whether directly or indirectly.Aftermath of Maduro’s abductionTrump has increased his pressure campaign against Cuba since January 3, when the US abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.Cuba and Venezuela have long been close regional allies. But following Maduro’s ouster, the US has exerted pressure on the government of interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez.Venezuela has since agreed to comply with a US demand to end its supply of oil and funds to Cuba.“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump wrote on January 11.“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO Cuba – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”Cuba has seen antigovernment protests erupt in recent years as the island suffers from chronic power outages. Trump has previously said the country appears “ready to fall“.Meanwhile, Mexico’s oil and petroleum sales to Cuba totaled $496m in 2025. The state-owned oil company Pemex has said the sales account for less than 1 percent of its production.It has framed the shipments as purely humanitarian, with Cuba having suffered from rampant poverty and energy shortages amid a decades-long US embargo.Earlier this week, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the UN chief was “extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba”.The spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, added that the situation in Cuba would “worsen, if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet”.Humanitarian aidStill, critics have pointed out that a humanitarian crisis in Cuba could result in an influx of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing to the US, undermining Trump’s goal of reducing migration.Cuba lies only 145 kilometres (90 miles) from the southern tip of the United States.On Thursday, the US State Department announced it would provide an extra $6m in humanitarian aid to Cuba, adding to $3m in previously announced support.The aid was set to be delivered by the Catholic Church, bypassing Cuba’s government.Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio decried the move as duplicitous.“Quite hypocritical to apply draconian coercive measures denying basic economic conditions to millions and then to announce soup & cans for a few,” de Cossio said in a post on social media.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the child of Cuban immigrants — has long been a proponent of overthrowing the country’s government and has championed Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign.Latin American analysts have argued that Rubio may have helped to orchestrate the abduction of Maduro as a means to that end.Some have noted that the Caribbean island has far less in the way of economic resources than Venezuela, making it potentially less attractive as a target for Trump.But Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has repeatedly pledged to defend his government, even to the “last drop of blood”.On Thursday, Diaz-Canel said his government would roll out ‌temporary measures in the next week to deal with fuel shortages amid blackouts in several provinces.Diaz-Canel also said the country is open to dialogue with the US — but without “pressure or preconditions”.