Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated on Tuesday during her usual press conference that she considers the United States’ threat to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba to be highly unfair.
“As I said yesterday, we consider it very unfair to impose tariffs on those who send oil to Cuba, and we will continue to help (the island) with various types of humanitarian aid,” the head of the Executive Branch reaffirmed from the National Palace.
On January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a supposed national emergency and establishing a process to apply tariffs to goods from countries that send crude oil to Cuba.
This decree, another tightening of the blockade imposed on Cuba for more than 60 years, is part of Washington’s current maximum pressure policy against the island and attempts to justify it in the interest of U.S. national security and foreign policy.
“At this time, we are taking all necessary steps to be able to send oil again, which is very necessary for the Cuban people, without affecting the people of Mexico,” the official stated this Tuesday.
The Mexican president mentioned, as on previous occasions, that most of the crude oil that Mexico sent to Cuba was through a purchase contract, just as with any country in the world, and another portion was for humanitarian reasons.
According to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some 814 tons of humanitarian aid departed on Sunday for the island from the port of Veracruz aboard the Navy’s logistics support ships Papaloapan and Isla Holbox.
According to reports, the Papaloapan is transporting essential food items, including liquid milk, meat products, cookies, beans, rice, canned tuna in water, sardines, and vegetable oil, as well as personal hygiene products, with a cargo of approximately 536 tons.
Meanwhile, the Isla Holbox was loaded with just over 277 tons of powdered milk.
The first vessel departed at 8:00 a.m. local time, and the second at noon, the Foreign Ministry detailed, adding that their arrival was expected in four days and noting that more than 1,500 tons of powdered milk and beans were still pending shipment.
On Monday, the island’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, thanked Mexico for “the solidarity, the affection, and the always warm embrace shown to Cuba.”
Various voices in Mexico, from parliamentarians to social organizations and political parties such as the ruling Morena or the Labor Party, have spoken out in support of the Caribbean nation in the face of the United States’ energy siege, which has also been described as cruel and anachronistic.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR / PRENSA LATINA ]
