Mexico becomes crucial fuel supplier to Cuba

U.S. control of Venezuelan oil could place Sheinbaum in a difficult situation.

- BY MARÍA VERZA

Cubans have suffered economic and energy crises under a decades-old trade embargo imposed by the U.S.

(YAMIL LAGE AFP/Getty Images)

As the United States prepares to seize control of Venezuelan oil and the administration of President Trump hardens its stance toward Cuba, Mexico has emerged as a key fuel supplier to Havana.

It's a role that could further complicate already strained relations with the Trump administration, even though the Mexican government insists that exports to the island have not increased.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged on Wednesday that "with the current situation in Venezuela, Mexico has become an important supplier" of crude oil to Cuba but asserted that "no more oil is being sent than has been sent historically; there is no specific shipment."

She added that those shipments are made via "contracts" or as "humanitarian aid" but offered no concrete figures on the number of barrels exported.

'The blackouts are going to intensify'

After the 1959 revolution that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista, the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in response to the nationalization of American-owned property. Under the embargo - long denounced by many countries, including Mexico - Cubans have suffered economic and energy crises, driving hundreds of thousands of Cubans to migrate, especially to the United States.

Blackouts that last up to eight hours and long lines at gas stations are routine across Cuba.