Trump Says U.S. Is 'Starting to Talk' With Cuba As Oil Supplies Cut

President Donald Trump said on Jan. 31, 2025 aboard Air Force One that "We're starting to talk to Cuba" as his administration has moved to cut off oil deliveries and impose tariffs, he told reporters.

The outreach and trade steps follow the Jan. 3, 2025 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and an earlier halt to Venezuelan oil shipments, actions analysts said have squeezed Cuba's energy supplies.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned the tariff threat could cause a humanitarian crisis and said she would seek alternatives to continue helping Cuba, her office said.

Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex reported shipping nearly 20,000 barrels per day to Cuba from Jan. through Sept. 30, 2025, and University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón estimated shipments fell to about 7,000 barrels per day, Pemex records and Piñón said.

The executive order did not specify tariff rates or name target countries, leaving the scope uncertain, while Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos F. de Cossio wrote on X that the U.S. was tightening its blockade, a characterization U.S. officials dispute.