US Should Threaten Sanctions Against Mexico for Selling Oil to Cuba, Lawmaker Says
The Biden administration should warn Mexico that it will be hit with sanctions if the country continues to “circumvent U.S. policy” by selling oil to Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a post on Medium last week. Rubio cited shipping data in a Reuters report that showed Mexico had surpassed Russia in providing oil to Cuba, although Mexico has said the oil is for humanitarian purposes.
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Rubio noted that U.S. sanctions include carve-outs for certain humanitarian shipments of food, fuel and medicine to the Cuban people. But “we know from experience that trade with Cuban officials is a lifeline for the Cuban dictatorship,” he said, adding that Mexico “should think twice before using U.S. banks and financial institutions to facilitate its fuel sales and shipments.”
“I urge President Joe Biden to make clear to President [Andres Manuel Lopez] Obrador that the United States will not support an anti-American, communist dictatorship at its doorstep,” Rubio said. “Moreover, I urge him to communicate that any attempt by Mexico to circumvent U.S. policy will be met with targeted sanctions on the sectors responsible.”