Trump threatens tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba, backing Mexico into a corner

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 US 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 US of resorting to “blackmail and coercion to try to force other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against 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, fuelled in part by strict economic sanctions by the US, Cuba has relied heavily on foreign assistance and oil shipments from allies like Mexico, Russia and Venezuela before a US 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 September 30, 2025.

That month, US 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 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 US. Sheinbaum has said 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 Mexico has completely “suspended” shipments and “humanitarian aid” to Cuba would continue and decisions about shipments to Cuba were determined by Pemex contracts.

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