Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said today that her country is becoming an “important supplier” of oil to Cuba amid the current tension between Venezuela and the United States.
During her morning news conference, Sheinbaum denied that Mexico is sending more oil to Cuba “than has historically been sent; there is no special shipment. For many years, oil has been sent to Cuba.”
Despite this regularity in shipments — which are made based on contracts or for humanitarian aid, Sheinbaum said — she also emphasized that now this oil is more important for the island.
“It’s a historic shipment (of oil) that has been sent to the island and the Cuban people. And now (the shipment) is part of both the contract and humanitarian aid. … Of course, with Venezuela’s current situation, Mexico obviously becomes an important supplier; before, it was Venezuela,” Sheinbaum explained.
Key context: Cuba depends on Venezuela’s assistance to meet even half of its energy needs. Due to Cuba’s outdated infrastructure and lack of maintenance, the island desperately needs the nearly 30,000 barrels of oil per day that Venezuela sent on average during 2025, according to Reuters.
However, US pressure following its attack on Venezuela on Saturday has put special focus on Caracas’ oil, resulting in instability for its main crude recipients, including Cuba.
Venezuela is not the only country that sends oil to Cuba, but it is by far the most important.
Jorge Piñón, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program at the University of Texas, told CNN that Mexico, up until the first months of 2025, was sending Venezuela about 20,000 barrels per day of “light, good quality” oil — but in recent months, the average dropped to about 7,000.
CNN’s Gonzalo Zegarra contributed to this report.