Trump threatens tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba, backing
Mexico into a corner
[January 30, 2026]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MEGAN JANETSKY
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 Mexican 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."
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and a number of other Cuban
officials condemned Trump’s executive order. Rodríguez called it a
“brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people … who are now
threatened with being subjected to extreme living conditions.”
He accused the U.S. of resorting to “blackmail and coercion to try to
force other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy
against Cuba.”
Cuba relies on allies for energy
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 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.
Uncertainty simmers in Mexico
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 Pemex had at least temporarily paused some
oil shipments to Cuba. But she struck an ambiguous tone, saying the
pause was part of general fluctuations in oil supplies and a “sovereign
decision” not made under pressure from the U.S. Sheinbaum has said
Mexico would continue to show solidarity with Havana, but didn’t clarify
what kind of support Mexico would offer.
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Drivers wait in line to fill up at a gas station in Havana, Cuba,
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
On Wednesday, the Latin American leader claimed she never said
Mexico has completely “suspended” shipments and “humanitarian aid"
to Cuba would continue and 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.
Trump and Sheinbaum spoke by phone Thursday morning. Sheinbaum said
they did not discuss Cuba.
“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.
‘Under threat of tariff coercion’
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.
On Cuban state television, commentator Jorge Legañoa, who usually
expresses views aligned with the government, asserted “Cuba was not
a threat,” but rather that the island’s authorities were fighting
gangs and preventing regional drug trafficking with their
zero-tolerance policy.
Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos F. de Cossio wrote
on social media platform X that the U.S. is tightening its Cuban
blockade after “the failure of decades of relentless economic
warfare” and attempting to “force sovereign states to join the
embargo.”
“Under threat of tariff coercion, they must decide whether to forgo
their right to export their own fuel to Cuba,” he wrote.
___
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Andrea Rodríguez and Dánica Coto
in Havana contributed to this report.
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