MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president asserted his country’s right to send fuel to Cuba and said on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on the island were “inhumane,” after a diesel cargo shipped by Mexico’s state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos arrived in Cuba’s Havana port.
Members of the Mexican Navy load humanitarian aid including medical supplies for Cuba in Veracruz, Mexico, on July 24, 2021.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said the aid is part of a cooperation agreement between Mexico and Cuba.
The U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment and the State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
John S. Kavulich, president of New-York based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said there were no specific U.S. sanctions preventing the sale — or donation — of Mexican fuel to Cuba.
The island is also struggling to supply power plants with natural gas, said Jorge Pinon from the University of Texas at Austin.
Cuba’s economy has been damaged by Venezuela’s collapse, along with a slump in tourism following the global coronavirus pandemic. »
