Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R) released a statement questioning Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s continued plans to send humanitarian aid to Cuba despite pressure from Congress and President Donald Trump.
“#SOSCuba From the United States Congress, we do not understand President Sheinbaum's eagerness to continue undermining the policy of our country,” Rep. Gimenez shared in a post on X. “We do not understand her eagerness to keep helping the murderous and cruel dictatorship that tramples on the people of #Cuba.”
Sheinbaum announced on Sunday that she will continue to send aid shipments to Cuba, even after claiming that her government seeks to “diplomatically solve everything related to the oil shipments (to Cuba) for humanitarian reasons.”
The Mexican president also claimed that Trump never spoke to her about any oil shipments to Cuba, despite Trump’s statements to reporters that he did speak to Sheinbaum and asked her to stop all aid.
Following the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Mexico has become Cuba’s primary oil lifeline, with reports from Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex indicating it shipped nearly 20,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba from January through Sept. 30, 2025.
In a further attempt to curb Mexico’s aid to Cuba, President Trump signed an executive order last Thursday that would impose tariffs on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.
This move would put pressure on Mexico to halt all aid to Cuba, threatening solidarity with the U.S. adversary, as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to build a strong relationship with Trump.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned Trump’s order, calling it a “brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people who are now threatened with being subjected to extreme living conditions.”
When pressed by reporters on whether or not Trump intends to “choke out” Cuba, Trump said he is “not trying to, but it looks like it’s something that [Cuba is] just not going to be able to survive.”
