WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.
The order would primarily put pressure on Mexico, a government that has acted as an oil lifeline for Cuba and has constantly voiced solidarity for the U.S. adversary even as President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to build a strong relationship with Trump.
Trump was asked by a reporter Thursday whether he was trying to “choke off” Cuba, which he called a “failing nation.”
“The word ‘choke off’ is awfully tough,” Trump said. “I’m not trying to, but, it looks like it’s something that’s just not going to be able to survive.”
Trump and Sheinbaum spoke by phone Thursday morning. Afterward, asked by a reporter if they had discussed Cuba, Sheinbaum said no.
“We didn’t address the issue of Cuba,” Sheinbaum said, adding that Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary had discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that it was “very important” for Mexico to maintain its humanitarian aid to Cuba and Mexico was willing to serve as an intermediary between the U.S. and Cuba.
This week has been marked by speculation that Mexico would slash oil shipments to Cuba under mounting pressure by Trump to distance itself from the Cuban government.
In its deepening energy and economic crisis, fueled in part by strict economic sanctions by the U.S., Cuba has relied heavily on foreign assistance and oil shipments from allies like Mexico, Russia and Venezuela before a U.S. military operation ousted former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Since the Venezuela operation, Trump has said that no more Venezuelan oil will go to Cuba and the Cuban government is ready to fall.
In its most recent report, Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex said it shipped nearly 20,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba from January through Sept. 30, 2025. That month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Mexico City. Afterward, Jorge Piñon, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute who tracks shipments using satellite technology, said the figure had fallen to about 7,000 barrels.
Sheinbaum has been incredibly vague about where her country stood, and this week has given roundabout and ambiguous answers to inquiries about the shipments, and dodged reporters questions in her morning press briefings.
On Tuesday, Sheinbaum said that Pemex, had at least temporarily paused some oil shipments to Cuba, but struck an ambiguous tone, saying the pause was part of general fluctuations in oil supplies and that it was a “sovereign decision” not made under pressure from the United States. Sheinbaum has said that Mexico would continue to show solidarity with Havana, but didn’t clarify what kind of support Mexico would offer.
On Wednesday, the Latin American leader claimed she never said that Mexico has completely “suspended” shipments and that “humanitarian aid” to Cuba would continue and that decisions about shipments to Cuba were determined by Pemex contracts.
“So the contract determines when shipments are sent and when they are not sent,” Sheinbaum said.
The lack of clarity from the leader has underscored the extreme pressure Mexico and other Latin American nations are under as Trump has grown more confrontational following the Venezuelan operation.
It remains unclear what the Thursday order by Trump will mean for Cuba, which has been roiled by crisis for years and a U.S. embargo. Anxieties were already simmering on the Caribbean island as many drivers sat in long lines this week for gasoline, many unsure of what would come next.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
