US President Donald Trump authorized his administration to slap tariffs on goods from countries that provide oil to Cuba, tightening the squeeze on the communist-run government he wants to see replaced.
Trump signed an executive order that will first identify which countries provide Cuba with oil, and then decide what additional export duties should be imposed.
“The Government of Cuba has taken extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States,” Trump wrote in the order. “The regime aligns itself with — and provides support for — numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States.”
Mexico will also come under fresh US pressure as a result of Trump's order. It became the main foreign supplier of oil to Cuba in recent years as Venezuelan shipments tumbled amid the South American nation's economic crisis. Earlier this month, Mexico backtracked on plans to send a crude shipment to the Caribbean island, according to documents seen by Bloomberg News.
Trump's move comes hours after President Claudia Sheinbaum touted a “cordial” conversation with her US counterpart that focused on trade, and didn't touch on Cuba, according to the Mexican leader.
Her office declined to comment on Trump's announcement, but said she'd address it at her next press conference set for Friday morning.
Mexico has emerged as one of Cuba's only remaining foreign fuel suppliers after it saw shipments decline from Venezuela, which for years sent heavily subsidized oil in exchange for medical and security personnel.
“This is mostly to deter Mexico from selling oil to Cuba,” said Rice University energy expert Francisco Monaldi. “This is a massive blow to Cuba that will push that island very quickly into a very dire situation.”
The Mexican foreign ministry didn't respond to questions about Trump's order, and the economy ministry declined to comment.
Mexico Under Pressure
Trump's latest threat once again puts Mexico, the top US trade partner, in the crosshairs. The two neighbors, along with Canada, are set to review the USMCA regional trade pact later this year, with major implications for Mexico's export-driven economy.
European diplomats have expressed concern that Cuba could face a humanitarian crisis if Trump continues to starve it of fuel supplies. Oil shipments have been curtailed since the operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, and the Trump administration's subsequent insistence the interim government there cease providing energy support to Havana.
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in a social media post earlier this month, urging the island's leadership to “make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Last year, Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex sent an average of one ship per month to Cuba, or the equivalent of 20,000 barrels a day of crude oil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The executive order argues that Trump is taking the action against the Cuban regime for supporting hostile actors, terrorism and regional instability that endanger American security. For years, US officials have also been concerned about China establishing a presence in Cuba to spy on the US, as the Soviet Union did in the past.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents immigrated to the US from Cuba, said at a hearing on Wednesday that the US would “love to see” a change in government in Cuba.
“It would be of great benefit to the United States if Cuba was no longer governed by an autocratic regime,” he said.
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