Crisis in Cuba stirs the ideological core of Mexico’s government

Cuba has become one of the Mexican government’s top foreign‑policy priorities. Since the increase in U.S. pressure that has pushed the island into a critical situation, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has spoken out almost daily to denounce the economic squeeze imposed under U.S. President Donald Trump and to reaffirm Mexico’s support for Havana.

Beyond the delicate balancing act with Washington, backing Cuba also resonates deeply inside Morena, Mexico’s ruling party, where it taps into a long tradition of political affinity dating back to the old governments led by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and revived under the previous administration. No other regional crisis — not even the U.S. military action against Venezuela — has prompted such a firm and persistent response from the Mexican government.

Mexico’s defense of Cuba hasn’t been limited to President Sheinbaum’s daily press conferences. Prominent Morena figures — from parliamentary spokespeople to party president Luisa Alcalde — have publicly aligned themselves with Havana. Within Morena, a broad and sometimes divided political family, the party’s more orthodox or nostalgic left wing has embraced the Cuban crisis as an ideological cause and is pushing for even closer ties with Havana.

On Monday, Alcalde and the party’s secretary‑general, Carolina Rangel, visited the Cuban Embassy, which expressed its gratitude in a social media post for “the support shown by the party members, legislators, and the Mexican government.” In his most recent public remarks, Cuban President Miguel Díaz‑Canel explicitly included Morena in his acknowledgments. Sources close to the Mexican presidency say there is a “there is a long-standing affection and solidarity with the Cuban people” and that this sentiment outweighs the more hardline positions within the party.

Two Mexican Navy ships left Veracruz on Sunday carrying 814 tons of supplies bound for Cuba — a rapid move meant to keep cooperation channels open without directly violating U.S. sanctions. Since the military attack on Caracas that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in early January, Washington’s strategy appears aimed at creating a domino effect that reaches Cuba, with which the U.S. has already opened a negotiation channel.

Cuba’s government says no fuel shipments have arrived since December. With Venezuela — its main supplier in recent years — cut off, Mexico is now one of the island’s few remaining allies. Pressure from Donald Trump, who declared a “national emergency” over Cuba in late January and announced economic sanctions on anyone selling oil to the island, forced Mexico to halt its shipments. Last year, Mexico was Cuba’s top supplier.

From the moment Trump announced new measures tightening pressure on Cuba, Sheinbaum insisted that Mexico would seek “solidarity with the Cuban people without putting Mexico at risk.” Her public messaging centers on humanitarian aid, while officials say negotiations continue to reopen the channel for oil shipments.

Sheinbaum also used humanitarian language in the weeks leading up to the Venezuelan attack, even calling for U.N. intervention to prevent “bloodshed.” She condemned the military operation that ousted Nicolás Maduro, invoking Mexico’s long‑standing foreign‑policy principle of rejecting external interference. That same principle has allowed her to avoid taking positions on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to María Corina Machado or on the disputed presidential election won by Maduro. Nor did Mexico respond strongly to Trump’s attacks on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, one of Sheinbaum’s regional allies.

Sheinbaum’s cautious, negotiation‑oriented approach has been a constant in her foreign policy, shaped in part by Trump’s threats, with Mexico in his sights. Her stance follows a long diplomatic tradition dating back to the Mexican Revolution, when principles of sovereignty and non‑intervention were established as a form of self‑protection against U.S. expansionism.

Within this framework, another long‑standing principle of Mexico–U.S. relations remains relevant: a tacit understanding that Mexico could take positions contrary to Washington’s as long as they did not create serious problems. The classic example was Mexico’s support for Castro’s Cuba during the Cold War — an enemy of the United States — allowing PRI governments to showcase left‑wing credentials without jeopardizing the bilateral relationship.

Sheinbaum is following the same diplomatic logic revived by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In 2022, López Obrador traveled to Havana, where he received the José Martí Order, the island’s highest honor for foreign dignitaries. After that visit, the relationship deepened, with Mexico increasing oil shipments to Cuba in exchange for medical services. Sheinbaum has continued that arrangement, at least until the latest escalation in U.S. pressure on the island, which lies just 200 kilometers from the Yucatán coast.

Sheinbaum is following the same logic, one strongly revived by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In 2022, the Mexican president traveled to Havana to be awarded the Order of José Martí, the highest distinction granted by the island’s authorities to a foreign dignitary. Since López Obrador’s visit, the relationship has strengthened with an increase in oil shipments in exchange for medical services. Sheinbaum has extended this agreement, until the latest escalation by the United States regarding an island located just 124 miles off the coast of Yucatán.

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