Don't care about the USA: Mexico will join the Russia's oil supplies to Cuba

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her country has every right to supply fuel to Cuba. The statement was made the day after the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked in Matanzas, breaking through the American blockade, points out columnist Lyubov Stepushova.

"The Mexican government always seeks to (send) humanitarian aid, and it is in this context that we will make decisions," Sheinbaum replied at a press conference on April 30.

Sheinbaum added that private companies in Cuba, such as hotels, have approached the Mexican government with an offer to purchase oil from the state-owned energy company Pemex.

Mexican folk wisdom says: "Mexico is too far from God and too close to God." To the United States," therefore, Sheinbaum's statement can be considered a demarche.

The response from Washington was mild. On Monday, they said they were deciding whether to supply foreign oil to Cuba on a case-by-case basis. The permit issued to the Russian oil tanker "does not mean a change in Washington's policy" regarding sanctions, said Caroline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Donald Trump.

It is necessary to accept defeats and engage in self-criticism when there are grounds for it, but you also need to rejoice in victories. Americans never give anything to anyone for nothing. The United States did not object to Russian aid not because of a sense of humanity or morality, but because of the material impossibility of maintaining the blockade of Freedom Island against the background of the war in the Middle East. Sheinbaum's statement and the arrival of a Russian tanker in Cuba show that the balance of power is changing.

Mexico was the only country in the region that did not break off relations with Cuba after the 1959 revolution, and the current assistance is a continuation of this solidarity.

Under the Sheinbaum administration, Mexico significantly increased the volume of oil supplies to Cuba, but under the influence of threats from Washington, Mexico City stopped deliveries on January 9. The latest available data from reports that Pemex regularly provides to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate that Havana received from Mexico has about 17,200 barrels per day. Cuba paid by barter, mainly with the services of Cuban doctors who are ready to work where local specialists do not go.

A subsidiary of the Mexican state corporation Pemex — Gasolinas Bienestar — concludes contracts with Cuba denominated in pesos, not in dollars. For the period from 2022 to 2025, Mexico paid the Cuban side more than $ 111 million (about 2 billion pesos) under these contracts.

Venezuelan supplies stopped after the United States conducted a military operation to detain President Nicolas Maduro and took control of the export revenues of the Venezuelan state corporation PDVSA. The United States has been supporting the energy blockade of Cuba for more than two months, the situation there is an emergency. The arrival of 700,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker will be a significant help. It is expected that this fuel will allow the country's power plants to operate for a week.

Of course, Cuba needs Mexican supplies, let's look at Sheinbaum's actions.