Guterres: Cuba Could Collapse if Its Oil Supplies Are Cut Off

SadaNews - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Cuba faces the risk of "collapse" if its oil supplies are cut off, according to a statement from his spokesperson, following Washington's threat to cut energy supplies to the island as part of a pressure campaign.

Cuba has been suffering from a U.S. trade embargo for decades, which has made it reliant on oil supplies coming from Venezuela, until the U.S. military ousted its president, Nicolas Maduro, last month and kidnapped him.

Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that his country controls Venezuelan oil, threatening to cut supplies to Cuba and impose tariffs on any country that tries to assist it.

He stated that he wants to "strike a deal" with the Cuban leadership, without clarifying its nature.

In a previous statement on Monday, Trump said that Mexico would stop sending oil to Cuba, which he described as a "failed state".

The halt of Mexican supplies will exacerbate the most severe economic crisis Cuba has faced since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

From Mexico's side, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday that Mexico will send humanitarian aid to Cuba this week, alongside its efforts to reach an agreement with Washington that would also allow it to send oil.

Guterres's spokesperson, Stefan Dujarric, stated that Guterres is "extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen to the point of potential collapse if its oil needs are not met."