President Sheinbaum clarifies previous ambiguous remarks regarding "supply suspension" confusion.

(C) Anadolu Ajansi

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum caused confusion by showing an ambiguous stance on the policy of supporting Cuba with crude oil. In a regular press conference on the 28th (local time), responding to inquiries about the current status of oil supplies to Cuba, Sheinbaum stated, "There are two ways we provide oil to Cuba: one is through PEMEX (state-owned oil company) contracts, and the other is for humanitarian reasons." She added, "Humanitarian aid to Cuba will continue, and that includes oil supplies."

This implies that oil exports or support to Cuba will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Previously, she stated that decisions on when and how to send oil are "sovereign decisions and do not follow external pressure." While she did not explicitly mention a suspension, local media interpreted this as an admission that shipments had been temporarily halted, following Bloomberg reports that PEMEX had canceled scheduled oil shipments to Cuba without notice.

These remarks come at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is exerting high-intensity pressure on Cuba. After the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. authorities on the 3rd, Trump has repeatedly emphasized the collapse of the Díaz-Canel government, stating that "crude oil going to Cuba will become zero." Venezuela has traditionally been Cuba's largest oil supplier.

In this context, the left-wing Sheinbaum administration appears to be walking a tightrope between ideological/humanitarian solidarity with Cuba and a pragmatic relationship with the U.S. As Mexico’s economic fate is tied to the USMCA, ignoring Trump’s "blockade of Cuba" is virtually impossible. Meanwhile, Cuba continues to suffer from severe power shortages; the Cuban Electric Union reported a deficit of 1,702 MW against a peak demand of 3,100 MW.