Overview
- President Donald Trump signed a decree allowing additional ad valorem tariffs on imports from any country that directly or indirectly provides petroleum to Cuba, with no rates specified in the text.
- Cuban officials condemned the move as a brutal act of aggression, and President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Trump seeks to asphyxiate the island’s economy.
- Daily fuel shortages in Cuba are worsening with long gasoline lines and power cuts of up to about ten hours in Havana, and market data from Kpler recently warned supplies could be depleted within weeks.
- The White House text does not name target countries; Mexico publicly denied deciding to suspend oil shipments and said it remains in solidarity with Cuba, despite earlier reports suggesting a halt.
- The push follows U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sector after Nicolás Maduro’s capture, and China voiced support for Cuba while criticizing measures that it called inhumane.