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The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated this Wednesday that her country "will always be there" to support Cuba with oil and humanitarian aid, amidst the energy crisis the island is experiencing due to the reduction of Venezuelan supplies and the U.S. embargo.
“If Mexico can help create better conditions for Cuba, we will always be there. It is a relationship with the Cuban people who live in very difficult conditions,” asserted Sheinbaum during her daily press conference, reported EFE.
The president emphasized that the shipment of oil is not done "at the expense of the people of Mexico," in response to opposition criticism.
"It's not at a cost, because it's actually very little; of what is produced, very little is sent, but it's a gesture of solidarity," he explained.
Sheinbaum recalled that shipments of fuel and humanitarian assistance have been part of the tradition of Mexican foreign policy since the United States imposed sanctions on Cuba in 1996, and emphasized that all Mexican governments have maintained ties with the island.
He also mentioned that under the mandate of Enrique Peña Nieto, part of Cuba's oil debt was forgiven, and that his predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, continued to send crude oil "by contract and for humanitarian reasons," a policy that his administration has decided to maintain.
The Mexican president insisted that this cooperation aligns with the principle of "brotherhood" that characterizes Mexico's foreign policy.
"And that doesn't have to disappear," he emphasized.
Mexico has become the main supplier of oil and derivatives to Cuba, a role that has increased its geopolitical weight in the region.
According to the Energy Institute of the University of Texas, cited by EFE, only in the second weekend of January did the Ocean Mariner ship arrive at the port of Havana, carrying about 86,000 barrels of fuel from Mexico.
The decision by the president of Mexico comes in a context of warning from the U.S. President, Donald Trump, that "there will be no more oil or money for Cuba".
However, the United States is allowing Mexico to continue supplying fuel to the island. How long will this last? It's the question many are asking, yet no one seems able to answer.
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