PEMEX Cancels Cuban Oil Shipment, Humanitarian Aid Might Continue

ByAlonso Urrutia and Alma E. Muñoz

This article by Alonso Urrutia and Alma E. Muñoz originally appeared in the January 28, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Expanding on the topic of oil shipments to Cuba, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum clarified that humanitarian aid to the island continues. “Mexico has always shown solidarity with the world; these are sovereign decisions. The issue of the (oil purchase) contract with Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is determined by that contract, specifying when the shipment will take place.”

Will the shipment of oil as humanitarian aid continue?

“We have to determine that based on the request,” Sheinbaum responded.

When asked directly why the oil shipment was suspended when Cuba needs it most, Sheinbaum said that this allowed her to clarify her position, specifying that the shipment is made through two channels: through a Pemex contract with a Cuban government institution and through humanitarian aid.

“Humanitarian aid is a sovereign decision, and Pemex, under contract, determines when to send it. I never said whether it had been suspended or not; that was an interpretation,” she responded during his press conference, referring to a report that had surfaced.

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