Global Powers Shift as Trump's Policies Reshape Alliances & Lives

Mexico Halts Oil Shipments to Cuba Amid US Pressure, China Courts US Allies

Mexico suspended oil shipments to Cuba, a move President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted was a "sovereign decision" and not a response to pressure from the United States, according to The Guardian and Al Jazeera. The decision comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to isolate the communist-ruled island nation, with fuel shortages causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, Al Jazeera reported.

The suspension of oil shipments from Mexico, Cuba's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments, occurred amid heightened rhetoric from President Trump, who has been seeking to isolate Cuba, Al Jazeera noted. President Sheinbaum denied the move was a response to pressure from the US, after Trump said zero oil would go to Cuba, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, China is actively positioning itself as a reliable business and trading partner to countries feeling alienated by President Trump's policies, Al Jazeera reported. Since the beginning of 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, and Irish leader Micheal Martin, according to Al Jazeera.

In other international news, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, as Russia seeks to secure its military presence in Syria, Al Jazeera reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that talks would focus on the presence of Russian soldiers at the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast, according to Al Jazeera. The meeting follows the toppling of former Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Al Jazeera noted.

Separately, Al Jazeera reported on the destruction of fertility clinics in Gaza by Israeli forces, which has erased the parenthood dreams of thousands of Palestinians.