Sheinbaum warns Trump oil tariffs on Cuba could spark humanitarian crisis

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, warned on Friday that Donald Trump’s executive order laying the groundwork for tariffs on countries sending oil to Cuba could trigger a humanitarian crisis on the island, which already faces chronic fuel shortages and regular blackouts. A White House statement cited the Cuban government’s alleged ties to Russia, Hamas and Hezbollah to explain the new tariffs, and while it did not name Mexico, Sheinbaum’s government has been the top supplier of oil to the island since 2025, surpassing Russia and Venezuela.

Sheinbaum said her government would seek more information from the US state department and look for alternative ways to provide humanitarian aid. "We will seek a way, without putting Mexico at risk, of course, but always seeking solidarity with the Cuban people," she told reporters.

Sheinbaum warned the tariffs could "directly affect hospitals, food supplies and other basic services for the Cuban people". Cuba's president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, said Trump sought to "suffocate" the island's economy and called the tariffs evidence of the "fascist, criminal, and genocidal nature of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal gain".

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