Russia Signals It Will Keep Sending Oil to Cuba Despite U.S. Pressure

Russia has been supplying crude oil to Cuba repeatedly over the past few years and supplies will continue, the Russian ambassador to Havana, Viktor Koronelli, told state news agency RIA today.

The statement comes following the latest U.S. squeeze on Cuba, with President Trump threatening tariffs on countries that continue sending crude to the island nation, warning it had about two weeks’ worth of oil earlier this month. Trump is aiming for regime change in Cuba.

Despite the threats, Mexico’s state oil company said this week it intended to uphold its contract with the government in Havanna and continue shipping oil there. That statement follows reports about Pemex canceling a planned oil cargo for Cuba at the end of January in response to Trump’s pressure campaign, with Reuters noting that the Mexican leadership was worried about getting punished by Washington if it kept shipping oil to Cuba.

President Claudia Scheinbaum, however, said that Pemex’s decision to suspend that shipment was made on the grounds of price considerations and not under U.S. pressure. Mexico has been exporting oil to Cuba at a rate of between 17,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd as of 2024 and early 2025. The island’s biggest oil supplier, however, was Venezuela, until the U.S. removed President Nicolas Maduro and took over the country’s oil industry.

Between January and September last year, Mexico shipped roughly 17,200 barrels per day of crude oil and 2,000 bpd of refined products to Cuba, according to Pemex filings. This may be modest by global standards, but it is what keeps Cuba’s power plants and transportation running.

Commenting on the events in Venezuela with regard to Cuba, Russia’s Koronelli said that it may be too premature to talk about Cuba losing an ally, although he acknowledged that “relations in certain spheres had changed format.”

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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