TRUMP CUTS CUBA OFF VENEZUELAN OIL THREATENS SANCTIONS & TARIFFS

Written by Michael Thervil

TRUMP CUTS CUBA OFF VENEZUELAN OIL THREATENS SANCTIONS & TARIFFS | PHOTO BY AP PHOTO/RAMON ESPINOSA

[Trump Cuba Venezuelan oil] Due to the Trump Administration's actions of applying additional sanctions on and restricting the flow of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, many geopolitical analysts are accusing the Trump Administration of attempting to “break the political will of the Cuban people”. This latest weaponization of sanctions on Cuba by the Trump Administration has caused various airliners around the world to either severely limit flights or stop flight operations to and from Cuba in their entirety.

The Trump Administration has yet to provide a clear reason as to why it decided to apply additional sanctions to the decade’s long application of sanctions on Cuba. Currently the people, not the government of Cuba who heavily depend on the purchasing of oil from Venezuela are suffering the most. Some of the Cuban sectors that have been adversely affected by President Trump's weaponized sanctions are transportation, health, hospitality and tourism, and education sectors.

Without proof of claim, President Trump stated that Cuba poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to American national security and threatened to increase tariffs on any country that supplies oil to Cuba. For Cuba, like any country oil is not only used as a source for fuel, but as a source for energy production. President Trump's sanctions on Cuba, has also prevented other countries such as Mexico from supplying oil to Cuba. Countries like Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated to the Press:

“This sanction being imposed on countries that sell oil to Cuba is very unfair, very unfair. It’s not right, because sanctions that affect the people are not right. One may agree or disagree with the regime in Cuba, but the people should never be harmed”. She went on to say, “We will continue supporting them and taking all necessary diplomatic actions to restore oil shipments” and that “You cannot strangle a people like this. It’s very unfair, very unfair”.

President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed Mexico's solidarity with Cuba and vowed to send billions in humanitarian aid to Cuba to help offset the damage caused by the additional sanctions placed on Cuba by the Trump Administration. This is in addition to what some are calling a “meager” $6 million in aid from the Americans in contrast to the $7.5 billion American sanctions have cost the Cuban government between March 2024 and February 2025.

The Cuban government has also begun to implement the process of rationing fuel across the country to maintain the bare minimum operation of “essential services”. While blackouts are considered common in Cuba, the length of time in which Cubans experience blackouts have been extended due to outdated and dilapidated infrastructure which has not been updated due to decades of American led sanctions and the current rationing of fuel. Despite American led weaponized sanctions on Cuba, the Cuban government has expressed its willingness to engage in talks of diplomacy with the Trump Administration.

Many world leaders are and have been warning of societal collapse in Cuba because of American led sanctions on the Cuban government. Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated to the Russian Press that Russia is actively seeking to help Cuba with “whatever assistance” it needs. He also stated that “The situation is really critical in Cuba” and that “The suffocating measures imposed by the United States are causing many difficulties for the country”. Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov also reaffirmed Russia's commitment to both the people of Venezuela and the people of Cuba.