Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday addressed international pressure and Cuba’s energy crisis, emphasizing that fuel exports can be justified on humanitarian or commercial grounds. Photo by Miguel Sierra/EPA
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that Mexico has “every right” to send fuel to Cuba, describing the shipments as a sovereign decision amid ongoing energy shortages on the island.
Speaking at her daily morning press conference, Sheinbaum addressed international pressure and Cuba’s energy crisis, emphasizing that fuel exports can be justified on humanitarian or commercial grounds.
“Mexico has every right to send fuel, whether for humanitarian or commercial reasons, but we do not want to affect Mexico with tariff increases. If shipments were reduced, they were later scaled back, and the goal is always to provide humanitarian aid,” she said, according to Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
Sheinbaum said her government is working with Cuban authorities to restore crude oil supplies that were temporarily disrupted following tariff threats and restrictions linked to U.S. policy.
Asked about a possible easing of those restrictions after the United States allowed a Russian tanker carrying crude to reach Cuba, Sheinbaum said Mexico is seeking to resume shipments in line with existing trade agreements.
She also noted that private companies purchase oil from Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, and resell it to firms operating in Cuba, indicating that energy flows are not limited to government-to-government arrangements, according to Político MX.
Sheinbaum criticized external sanctions that she said are “suffocating” the Cuban population and described the U.S. embargo as unjust. She added that Mexico’s shipments account for less than 1% of national oil production, but are critical to preventing a deeper humanitarian crisis.
As a personal gesture, Sheinbaum said she donated 20,000 Mexican pesos, or $1,200, to a humanitarian aid fund for Cuba, stressing the contribution was made in a personal capacity and not from public funds.
Before the tightening of sanctions in February 2026, Mexico’s oil exports to Cuba had reached record levels under Sheinbaum’s administration. Between January and September 2025, Pemex reported shipments of about 19,200 barrels per day to the island.
After a September 2025 visit to Mexico by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, analysts reported a sharp drop in exports to around 7,000 barrels per day due to diplomatic pressure.
However, Mexican outlet Grupo Fórmula reported that the scale of ongoing shipments remains unclear. Some estimates suggest Mexico sent more than 12,000 barrels per day to Cuba in 2025, with peak activity between May and August, when 58 shipments valued at about $3 billion were delivered.
