Mexico to resume oil shipments to Cuba using private companies

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the government is preparing to restart commercial oil shipments to Cuba through privately owned Mexican firms that hold export permits. The plan is presented as a purely commercial operation, separate from the humanitarian aid Mexico continues to send to the island.

The initiative follows Cuba’s severe energy crisis, with power shortages of up to 2,174 MW, blackouts lasting up to 48 hours, water shortages and disruptions to health services. After the last Mexican delivery in January was halted amid U.S. secondary‑sanctions pressure, Mexico’s state oil company Pemex suspended exports earlier this year.

Cuba’s recent economic reforms – a package of 176 measures approved by its National Assembly – open the market to private investors, allowing Mexican entrepreneurs to trade directly with Cuban counterparts. Mexico, which supplied about 17 % of Cuba’s fuel consumption in 2025 (roughly 560 million USD in value), hopes the new mechanism will bypass U.S. restrictions on the Cuban state oil firm CUPET.

While pursuing the commercial route, Mexico will maintain its humanitarian shipments of food, medicine and other relief items to help alleviate the island’s hardships.