Authors: Nirutpal Timshina and Marianna Paraga
Jan 11 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Venezuela would no longer provide oil or money to Cuba and suggested the communist-ruled island should reach a deal with Washington to increase pressure on America’s arch-enemy.
Venezuela is Cuba’s largest oil supplier, but shipping data shows that no cargo has departed from Venezuelan ports for the Caribbean country since the U.S. imposed a strict oil blockade on the OPEC nation in early January and U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Meanwhile, Caracas and Washington are making progress on a $2 billion deal to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the United States, with proceeds deposited into an account overseen by the U.S. Treasury Department, a major test of Trump’s emerging relationship with interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
“There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba – ZERO! I strongly urge them to make a deal before it’s too late,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform on Sunday.
Trump added: “For years, Cuba has relied on vast amounts of Venezuelan oil and money to survive.”
Trump did not elaborate on his proposed deal. U.S. officials have become tougher in their rhetoric toward Cuba in recent weeks.
Cuba defends import rights
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a post on X on Sunday that Cuba has the right to import fuel from any supplier willing to export it. He also denied that Cuba received financial or other “material” compensation for providing security services to any country.
During the US attack on Venezuela, 32 members of the Cuban armed forces and intelligence services were killed. Cuba said the victims were responsible for “security and defence” but gave no details of the arrangement between the two long-time allies.
Cuba relies on imported crude oil and fuel, supplied mainly by Venezuela and Mexico in smaller quantities, and purchases it on the open market to keep generators and vehicles running.
Venezuela’s crude oil and fuel supplies to Cuba have declined in recent years as refining capacity has declined. But the South American country remains the largest supplier, exporting about 26,500 barrels a day last year, accounting for about 50% of Cuba’s oil deficit, according to ship tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA.
Mexico has emerged as an important alternative oil supplier to the island in recent weeks, but supplies remain small, according to shipping data.
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum said last week that the country was not increasing supplies but had become an “important crude supplier” to Cuba in light of recent political events in Venezuela.
U.S. intelligence services painted a grim picture of Cuba’s economic and political situation, but its assessment did not clearly support Trump’s prediction that Cuba was “preparing to fall,” Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the classified assessment.
The CIA believes that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely stressed by frequent power outages, trade sanctions and other problems. Venezuela, a key ally for decades, could lose oil imports and other support, which could make it more difficult for President Miguel Diaz Canel to govern.
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and Bill Berkrot)
