Mexico Halts Oil Shipments to Cuba Amid US Pressure, China Gains Influence
Mexico suspended oil shipments to Cuba, a decision President Claudia Sheinbaum asserted was a sovereign one and not a response to pressure from the United States, according to The Guardian. The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to isolate the communist-ruled island nation, reported Al Jazeera. Fuel shortages have been causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, making Mexico the island's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments.
The cancellation occurred amidst a backdrop of China positioning itself as a reliable partner to countries feeling alienated by President Trump's policies, Al Jazeera noted. Since the beginning of 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with several world leaders, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, and Irish leader Micheal Martin.
The situation highlights the complex geopolitical dynamics in Latin America, with Venezuela also seeking closer ties with China. The Guardian raised the question of whether Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez could become a Latin American Deng Xiaoping, modeling reform and opening up on China's post-Mao boom.
Meanwhile, in other immigration-related news, a five-year-old U.S. citizen named Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos was deported to Honduras alongside her mother on January 11, according to The Guardian. Génesis, who misses her cousins, classmates, and kindergarten teachers in Austin, Texas, had never known Honduras. Her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, whose visa application was pending, plans to send Génesis back to the U.S. soon accompanied by another relative.
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