U.S. allows Mexico to provide oil to Cuba despite Trump's vow to cut off supply

Source: CBS News

January 12, 2026 / 2:35 PM EST


Despite President Trump's social media pronouncement Sunday that "there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba — zero," the current U.S. policy is to allow Mexico to continue to provide oil to the island, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and another U.S. official. Cuba desperately needs the oil, since Venezuela is no longer supplying it, after Nicolás Maduro's ouster just over a week ago.

Mr. Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Monday morning. The White House and Mexican government have not yet said whether Mexico's oil supply to Cuba was discussed. Mexico, which was providing some oil to Cuba before Maduro's capture by the U.S., has become an especially key fuel supplier to the island since the Venezuelan leader's arrest, which was accompanied by the U.S. interception of vessels carrying oil to Cuba. Sheinbaum has referred to oil as "humanitarian aid."

The U.S. does not seek to trigger a collapse of the Cuban government, but rather seeks to negotiate with Havana to transition away from its authoritarian communist system, according to a U.S. official. Mr. Trump's post Sunday morning threatened Cuba, advising the island to make a deal "before it is too late." It was not immediately clear what kind of deal Mr. Trump is seeking from Cuba or who would lead them. A little later, he reshared a post predicting Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be the next president of Cuba. "Sounds good to me," Mr. Trump commented.

The Cuban regime had a series of defiant responses to Mr. Trump's social media threats. "As history demonstrates, relations between the U.S. and Cuba, in order to advance, must be based on International Law rather than on hostility, threats, and economic coercion," Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said on X Monday. He also denied any current talks were underway.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mexico-cuba-oil/