US allows Mexico to supply oil to Cuba despite Trump vow

The US has allowed Mexico to continue supplying oil to Cuba despite President Trump's statement on social media that 'there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba — zero.' Energy Secretary Chris Wright and another US official confirmed that the current US policy is to permit Mexico's oil supply to Cuba. Cuba is in dire need of oil due to Venezuela's inability to supply it following Nicolás Maduro's ouster. The US does not aim to collapse the Cuban government but seeks to negotiate a transition away from its authoritarian communist system. The Cuban regime has responded defantly to Trump's threats, denying any current talks with the US government.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has rejected negotiations with the US, despite President Donald Trump's warning that Cuba will no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela. Díaz-Canel stated that there are no conversations with the US government except for technical contacts in the migration field and that any negotiations would be based on international law, not hostility or economic coercion. Trump had announced that Cuba would no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela, a move that would sever Havana's energy and financial lifeline. Cuba has long depended on imported oil to keep its aging power grid running, and the loss of Venezuelan oil imports could worsen the country's widespread blackouts.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has vowed to defend the country 'to the last drop of blood' in response to US President Donald Trump's call for Cuba to make a deal with Washington. Trump had threatened to cut off Cuba's oil lifeline from Venezuela, stating that 'there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba - zero!' Díaz-Canel accused the US of applying 'draconian measures of extreme strangulation' to Cuba for six decades. The exchange comes amid a backdrop of US-Cuba tensions and the recent US operation against the Maduro regime in Venezuela, which Cuba had supported. Cuban-born US Rep. Carlos Gimenez weighed in, condemning Díaz-Canel as a 'dictator' and stating that 'you don't have much time left.' The situation highlights the ongoing strained relations between the US and Cuba, with both sides engaging in a heated war of words.