Mexico will be shipping humanitarian aid including food to Cuba this week, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Sunday.
Speaking at a public event in the northern state of Sonora, Sheinbaum denied discussing the Caribbean island with US President Donald Trump, who had earlier asked her to suspend oil shipments to Cuba and threatened those selling oil to the Communist-ruled country with tariffs.
Sheinbaum said her government seeks to “diplomatically solve everything related to the oil shipments [to Cuba] for humanitarian reasons.”
Why does Cuba need humanitarian aid?
Cuba is embroiled in a worsening economic crisis, where blackouts that could last over 12 hours happen almost daily amid oil shortages.
Venezuela suspended oil shipments to the Caribbean island after a US military operation which kidnapped and deposed President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
This turned Mexico, whose oil was already a key lifeline for Cuba, to Havana’s main supplier of crude oil and refined products.
Reports suggest Mexico has recently reduced its oil supplies to Cuba due to US pressure. The US has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962.
On Friday, Sheinbaum warned of a major humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean island.
Cuba’s economy faces a future without Venezuela’s oil
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Edited by: Wesley Dockery
