PEMEX Keeps Oil Shipments to Cuba Under Wraps: "It's a Private Matter"

The state-owned company Petróleos Mexicanos, commonly known as PEMEX, has refused to disclose the payment receipts for oil shipments to Cuba, which have been ongoing since July 2023. Responding to an information request from the newspaper El Universal, PEMEX stated that payments to Cuba through its subsidiary, Gasolinas Bienestar, are considered private matters.

“Gasolinas Bienestar, S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Petróleos Mexicanos, is established as a private commercial company under the State Public Enterprise Law, article 63. As such, it is not classified as a state entity and is not required to adhere to transparency obligations as per article 117 of the same law,” explained PEMEX in a statement. This subsidiary was created by the Mexican government to circumvent using PMI, which handles trade with the United States, thereby avoiding violations of embargo laws.

The subsidiary, operating as a private company, is not obligated to disclose information regarding transparency. Eduardo Bohórquez, director of Transparencia Mexicana, criticized PEMEX's response, arguing it contradicts article 6 of the Mexican constitution. This article mandates that obligated entities maintain updated administrative records and openly share comprehensive and current information on public resource management and performance indicators.

Bohórquez emphasized that it isn’t about the entity’s status as a state-owned or private company; the issue lies in the management of public resources. He pointed out that PEMEX's refusal to provide the requested information could be subject to review by transparency authorities or even the judiciary. He stressed that public pressure is crucial, as taxpayers should be concerned about how a company, described as belonging to all Mexicans, is managed.

From July 2023 to June of the following year, PEMEX sent between 19,000 to 23,000 barrels of crude oil daily to Cuba, with a total value of $1.3 billion, accounting for 3.3% of PEMEX's total exports. Mexico has continued dispatching large quantities of subsidized oil to Cuba, with activities in 2025 surpassing those of previous years.

A report by Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (MCCI) disclosed that between May and June of this year, PEMEX recorded 39 shipments to the island worth a total of $850 million, approximately 16 billion pesos. The volume exported in just that month—10.2 million barrels of crude oil and 132.5 million liters of aviation fuel, diesel, and regular gasoline—nearly equaled the total value of shipments over the previous two years, which amounted to $1 billion from July 2023 to September 2024.

According to foreign trade records reviewed by MCCI, these transactions were carried out through Gasolinas del Bienestar S.A. de C.V., a PEMEX subsidiary specifically created for hydrocarbon exports to the island. This occurred despite the National Transparency Institute ordering PEMEX to disclose details such as quantities, costs, and responsible parties, following complaints of a lack of transparency.

Most shipments departed from the Coatzacoalcos customs area in Veracruz, while one left from the port of Tampico, Tamaulipas, carrying 6.8 million liters of diesel. Shipments persisted into July, as confirmed by satellite tracking. On August 11, the Cuban oil tanker Sandino was anchored off PEMEX's maritime terminal in Laguna de Pajaritos, Coatzacoalcos, loading cargo. The vessel had previously left Havana on June 27.

The Cuban state company Coreydan, S.A., located at Calle Amistad 552 in Central Havana, also housing CUPET (Unión Cuba-Petróleo), is identified as the importer in these transactions, as detailed in the report. On June 19, a shipment involving eight million liters of gasoline even listed the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) as the importer, according to customs documents.

These operations highlight the strong energy cooperation between Mexico and Cuba during a time when the island is experiencing severe economic and energy crises, marked by prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. Moreover, Mexico ignored recommendations from the United States, which canceled an $800 million loan to PEMEX in 2023 after discovering that the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador had been gifting fuel to the Cuban regime.

In February, it emerged that PEMEX faced a debt exceeding $300 million due to oil shipments to the island over the past two years. Although Mexico denied gifting fuel to Cuba, the shipments have surged, and the payment methods remain unclear.