Mexico Explores Ways to Aid Cuba Despite US Tariff Threat

Mexico City — President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced that she has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to contact the United States Department of State to understand the scope of the new tariff decree announced yesterday by her American counterpart, Donald Trump, against countries that support Cuba with oil.

In her morning press conference today, the president issued a formal statement on the matter, highlighting four points of response, noting that the issue was not addressed during the call she had yesterday morning with President Trump.

This comes in the context of speculation this week that Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) had stopped sending hydrocarbons to Cuba, which the president denied was true and clarified that the shipments are part of the humanitarian aid her government provides to the Caribbean country.

She detailed that as the first point, her government “unequivocally reaffirms the principle of sovereignty and the free self-determination of peoples,” which she described as a “fundamental pillar” of foreign policy and international law.

As a second point, Sheinbaum Pardo stated that increasing tariffs on countries that support Cuba could “trigger a far-reaching humanitarian crisis,” as it could affect the supply of various basic services on the island.

Therefore, as a third point, she called for dialogue between the involved parties, to which she added her instruction to the SRE to consult with the US Department of State, headed by Marco Rubio, about possible impacts on Mexico.

“I have instructed the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to establish immediate communication with the Department of State to understand the scope of yesterday’s decree and to make it known that we must prevent a humanitarian crisis for the Cuban people,” she emphasized.

However, she specified that Mexico will seek various alternatives to continue providing humanitarian aid to the Cuban government, “which is going through a difficult time, in line with what has historically been our tradition of solidarity and international respect.”