Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Cuba’s leadership pushed back strongly on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that no more Venezuelan oil or financial support would be allowed to reach the island, escalating pressure on the Communist-run country and sharpening tensions across the region.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Cuba should consider striking a deal with Washington, warning that Venezuelan oil shipments and financial flows would be cut off entirely. “There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba – zero,” Trump wrote, adding that the island had survived for years on support from Venezuela.
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel swiftly rejected the warning, insisting that the United States had no authority to dictate terms to Havana. In a message posted on X, he said Cuba was a “free, independent, and sovereign nation” and accused Washington of decades of aggression. Díaz-Canel added that Cuba does not threaten other countries but remains prepared to defend itself.
Venezuela has long been Cuba’s largest oil supplier, providing crucial fuel to keep power plants, transportation, and industry running. However, shipping data shows that no Venezuelan oil cargoes have departed for Cuba since early January, following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces and the imposition of a strict U.S. oil blockade on the OPEC member.
At the same time, Washington and Caracas are moving forward with a proposed $2 billion deal under which up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil would be supplied to the United States, with proceeds placed in U.S. Treasury-supervised accounts. The arrangement is widely seen as a major test of the evolving relationship between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s interim leadership under Delcy Rodríguez.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also responded on Sunday, stating that Cuba has the right to import fuel from any country willing to sell it. He denied that Havana had received financial or material compensation in exchange for providing security services abroad, amid reports that dozens of Cuban military and intelligence personnel were killed during the recent U.S. raid in Venezuela. Cuban authorities said those personnel had been engaged in security and defense duties but offered no further details.
Despite declining shipments in recent years due to Venezuela’s own refining and production problems, Caracas remained Cuba’s largest oil supplier in 2025, exporting an estimated 26,500 barrels per day. That volume covered roughly half of Cuba’s oil deficit, according to shipping data and internal documents from Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.
The loss of Venezuelan energy support would come at a critical moment for Cuba, which is grappling with one of its worst economic crises in decades. Prolonged power outages have become routine, with many households enduring most of the day without electricity. Shortages of fuel, food, and medicine have fueled public frustration and driven a record wave of emigration, primarily toward the United States.
Mexico has emerged as a limited alternative supplier in recent weeks. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico had not significantly increased volumes but acknowledged that recent developments in Venezuela had made her country a more important source of crude for Cuba. Shipments from Mexico, however, remain modest and insufficient to fully offset Venezuelan losses.
Trump’s comments reflect a broader effort by his administration to assert U.S. influence across the Western Hemisphere. Senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have suggested that Washington’s actions in Venezuela could further weaken Cuba’s government, though U.S. intelligence assessments reportedly stop short of predicting an imminent collapse of the Cuban state.
On the streets of Havana, reactions were mixed. Some residents expressed defiance, saying they were accustomed to hardship and external pressure. Others voiced growing desperation. “There’s no electricity, no gas, nothing,” said Maria Elena Sabina, a 58-year-old parking attendant. “A change is needed, and quickly.”
As Washington tightens pressure and Havana braces for further shortages, Cuba faces an increasingly uncertain energy and economic outlook, with limited options to replace the support it has long relied on from its closest regional ally.
