Mexico sends more aid to Cuba, calls for action from UN: Monday’s mañanera recapped

• 🚢 Mexico is sending another humanitarian aid vessel to Cuba today, doubling down on its support for the island amid escalating tensions. Following Trump’s remarks about “taking Cuba,” Sheinbaum called for dialogue through the UN, rejected any military solution, and reaffirmed Mexico’s opposition to the U.S. embargo.
• 🕊️ Sheinbaum noted that the U.S. and Cuba are already in talks, and said Mexico is positioning itself as a peace broker, telling both governments it’s ready to help “avoid any conflict” while backing Cuba’s right to self-determination.
• ⛽ On energy, the government is analyzing the environmental impact of fracking to cut Mexico’s massive dependence on U.S. natural gas imports — currently at 75% — though zero dependence isn’t the goal, just a meaningful reduction.
• ⚖️ Sheinbaum confirmed that some women remain imprisoned for having abortions in Mexico. She said the federal government will review whether it has authority to intervene, though abortion laws ultimately fall under each state’s jurisdiction.

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Why today’s mañanera matters

The situation in Cuba, Mexico’s longstanding and ongoing support for the Cuban people, and the United States’ posture toward the country’s communist regime have been recurring issues at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conferences in 2026.

Today’s presser was significant as Sheinbaum revealed that Mexico is sending more humanitarian aid to the island nation, and reaffirmed her government’s desire for peace amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Havana.

Also of note at the first mañanera of the week were the president’s remarks about her government’s analysis of the environmental impacts of “non-conventional” gas exploration — i.e., fracking.

Sheinbaum appears open to allowing a form of sustainable fracking in Mexico, taking a very different position to that adopted by her predecessor and political mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mexico sending more aid to Cuba 

Without providing specific details, Sheinbaum said that a Mexican vessel loaded with humanitarian aid for Cuba will depart this Monday.

“Another humanitarian aid vessel is leaving today, from Mexico to the island, to the Cuban people,” she said.

“And we’re going to send all the humanitarian aid that is necessary,” Sheinbaum added.

In February, Mexican Navy ships transported more than 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Cuba, where people are facing a situation of extreme hardship amid a U.S. blockade on oil shipments to the Communist-run Caribbean island nation. Mexican vessels are also participating in an international humanitarian effort to deliver food, medical supplies and solar equipment to Cuba.

Sheinbaum’s remarks about Mexico’s latest humanitarian aid shipment came after a reporter highlighted that Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio said on Sunday that the Cuban military “is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression.”

“We would be naive if, looking at what’s happening around the world, we would not do that. But we truly hope that it doesn’t occur. We don’t see why it would have to occur, and we find no justification whatsoever — why would the government of the United States force its country to take military action against a neighboring country like Cuba,” Fernández told the NBC program Meet the Press.

His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he believed he would have “the honor of taking Cuba.”

On Monday morning, Sheinbaum noted that it is public knowledge that the United States and Cuba have held talks and asserted that the two countries are seeking a “peaceful solution” to their differences.

She said that her administration speaks to the governments of both the United States and Cuba, telling them that Mexico is “always” ready to do what it can “to avoid any conflict.”

Sheinbaum also said that Mexico will always support “the right of the Cuban people to self-determination.”

“In the face of any conflict, what should be used [to resolve it] are multilateral channels — the United Nations,” she said.

🇨🇺🇺🇸 Desde Palacio Nacional, la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum habló sobre la situación entre los gobiernos de Cuba y Estados Unidos y dijo que la ONU debe pedir respeto para Isla.

Señaló que las Naciones Unidas debería enviar ayuda y reiteró la postura de México para mandar ayuda… pic.twitter.com/g8cTYAPwOd

— La Crónica de Hoy (@LaCronicaDeHoy) March 23, 2026

“And the United Nations should also send humanitarian aid [to Cuba]. … [We shouldn’t have] one country over another, no to invasion, no to a violent solution [to differences],” Sheinbaum said.

She added that Mexico is opposed to the longstanding U.S. embargo against Cuba, and the Trump administration’s current oil blockade of the country.

Mexico seeks to cut reliance on gas imports 

One month after she indicated her government could allow a form of sustainable fracking in order to increase domestic production of natural gas, Sheinbaum said that “the environmental impacts” of “non-conventional [gas] exploitation” — i.e., fracking — are being analyzed.

Part of that analysis, she said, is the consideration of “new technologies” that can purportedly make fracking more sustainable.

Sheinbaum said that her government would present the analysis in due course as well as a “very specialized team, because we don’t want to generate negative environmental impacts.”

The government’s objective is to reduce reliance on imports of natural gas, primarily from the United States.

Sheinbaum reiterated that Mexico imports around 75% of the natural gas it uses.

She said that getting that figure down to 0% is not possible, but stressed that “reducing the dependence we have today” can be achieved. The tapping of Mexico’s conventional — and unconventional — gas reserves looks set to be the government’s chosen path toward reducing the current reliance on foreign gas.