FEATURE | Is Mexico weighing stopping oil shipments to Cuba amid US retaliation concerns?

Sheinbaum has spearheaded an offensive against the notorious Sinaloa Cartel and approved three unprecedented mass transfers of nearly 100 drug kingpins to the United States.

These measures have been praised by high-ranking U.S. officials, but Sheinbaum has repeatedly stated that unilateral U.S. action on Mexican soil represents a red line.

"Very little of the crude oil produced in Mexico is sent to Cuba, but it is a form of solidarity in a situation of hardship and difficulty," Sheinbaum said on Wednesday. "That doesn't have to disappear," she added.

Cuba's Mexican oil lifeline

Trump's pressure campaign against Cuba dates back to his first term when he reversed much of the historic rapprochement orchestrated by former Democratic President Barack Obama, and has only increased since the Republican returned to office a year ago.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American, has been a driving force behind Trump's Venezuela policy, which he and other US officials also see as potentially weakening Maduro's Cuban allies. But the constraints on Trump's approach to Cuba are more daunting, given Havana's regional and international support, the entrenched nature of Cuba's leadership and security forces, and the ability the country has shown to withstand decades under a tough US economic embargo.

The largest island in the Caribbean relies heavily on fuel imports of refined products to meet its demand for electricity generation, gasoline, and aviation fuel. US sanctions and a deep economic crisis have prevented the Communist government from purchasing enough fuel for years, forcing it to depend on a small group of allies.