Mexico pleas to end US oil embargo on Cuba as humanitarian aid arrives

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that her administration is seeking to broker an agreement with the US to supply oil to Cuba, as Washington has tightened its blockade on the island.

Two Mexican Navy ships carrying more than 800 tons of food arrived in Cuba as President Sheinbaum continues efforts to supply oil without facing tariffs.

The Mexican armed forces delivered 814 tons of aid consisting of milk, meat products, rice, beans and personal hygiene items.

According to Sheinbaum, a second shipment carrying 1.5 tons of powdered milk and beans is pending.

“Today the ships arrive. Once they return, we will send more support of a different kind,” Sheinbaum said during her morning briefing.

US President Donald Trump has tightened the chokehold on Cuba's economy and its people by restricting oil supplies from allied nations.

International flights have fallen, the Cuban currency has weakened, and power outages across the country have plunged the population into crisis, as Trump's promises of seeing the island fall unfold.

Mexico became the main supplier of crude oil to Cuba after Venezuelan shipments ceased in December following a US blockade.

However, Mexican oil shipments ended after the Trump administration issued a decree announcing tariffs on all countries that supply or sell oil to Cuba.

Sheinbaum has invested diplomatic efforts in an attempt to broker an agreement with the US to resume oil shipments, proposing Mexico as a channel for dialogue between Cuba and the US, insisting that the sanctions hurt the people more than the Cuban Communist Party.

“It depends on both countries. We have conveyed, both to the United States Department of State and through the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, that Mexico is doing everything in its power to help generate a dialogue that, within the framework of Cuba’s sovereignty, creates the conditions for a peaceful resolution and allows Cuba — without any country imposing sanctions — to receive oil and its derivatives for its daily functioning,” she said.