The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Thursday (29) that he will apply tariffs on products imported from countries that send oil to Cuba.
The imposition of the surcharge is part of an executive order signed today by the president, which declares a state of national emergency due to what he called the Cuban “threat”. The tariff level was not specified in the text.
In the executive order, Trump claimed that Cuba invites “dangerous adversaries of the United States” to install “sophisticated military and intelligence bases” on the island that directly threaten American national security.
“Cuba is home to Russia’s largest signals intelligence facility abroad, which attempts to steal sensitive national security information from the United States. Cuba continues to build deep intelligence and defense cooperation with the People’s Republic of China,” the American president said.
“Cuba welcomes transnational terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, creating a safe environment for these malign groups to build economic, cultural and security ties across the region and attempt to destabilize the Western Hemisphere, including the United States,” he added.
Trump also said that the communist regime “persecutes and tortures its political opponents; denies the Cuban people freedom of speech and press; corruptly profits from the misery of others; and commits other human rights violations.”
According to information from the Financial Times newspaper, in 2025, Mexico sent a daily average of 12,284 barrels of oil to Cuba, which corresponded to 44% of the island’s crude oil imports, while Venezuela exported around 9,528 barrels per day (34% of Cuban imports).
According to the British newspaper, Mexican oil exports to Cuba grew 56% last year compared to 2024, while Venezuelan exports, once the main source of the commodity for Cubans, have fallen 63% since 2023.
A report published this Thursday by the Financial Times pointed out that Cuba only has enough oil for 15 to 20 days at current levels of demand and domestic production. The British newspaper cited the data company Kpler as a source.
After the capture of the then Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by American forces, on the 3rd, Trump stated that there will no longer be shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba and told the Castro regime to make an agreement with Washington “before it is too late”.
According to the Financial Times, the island received just 84,900 barrels this year, from a single Mexican shipment on January 9.
This level is equivalent to a supply of just over 3,000 barrels per day, well below the average of 37,000 barrels/day from all Cuban suppliers in 2025, a year in which the country has already faced a serious energy crisis that has continued into the first days of 2026.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Wednesday (28) that her government would continue delivering humanitarian aid to Cuba, which would include oil, although she did not discuss the reasons for suspending the shipment of a cargo that would be directed to the island in recent days.
Last week, the Reuters agency said that Mexico was reviewing oil exports to Cuba due to fear of retaliation from the United States.
