Rep. Carlos Gimenez
Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez

Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez slammed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for announcing her administration will send aid to Cuba, saying she is helping a "murderous and cruel dictatorship."

"From the U.S. Congress we don't understand the Mexican President's intention of keep on undermining our country's policy," Gimenez said in a social media publication. "We don't understand the intention of keep on helping the murderous and cruel dictatorship stepping on the Cuban People," he added.

He was reacting to an announcement from Sheinbaum, who said on Sunday that her administration will send humanitarian aid to Cuba but hold off on oil shipments due to an order from President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on countries who do.

"The aid will be sent by the Navy Secretariat and will be comprised of foods and other products while everything regarding oil shipments due to humanitarian reasons will be solved through diplomatic means," Sheinbaum said while speaking in the state of Sonora.

She went on to say that the country is "searching all diplomatic channels" to send oil to the beleaguered Caribbean country, "but we'll send other products that are indispensable for the Cuban people."

President Donald Trump has rejected Sheinbaum's claim that an end to oil shipments will cause a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, saying it doesn't have to reach that point if the Havana regime strikes a deal with him.

"I think they'll probably come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba will be free again. They'll come to us and make a deal. Cuba really has a problem. I know a lot of people from Cuba. We have a lot of people in the U.S. right now who would like to go back to Cuba. We'd like to work that out," Trump said during the weekend while speaking to press aboard the Air Force One.

Tensions run high in the region as a report from the Financial Times last week claimed that the country has less than a month worth of oil at current levels of demand and domestic production.

Citing data company Kpler, the outlet noted that the country has oil to last 15 to 20 days unless deliveries resume. "They have a major crisis on their hands" Jorge Piñon, an oil expert at the University of Texas told the outlet.

The country has only received less than 85,000 barrels this year, according to the FT. All came from a shipment on January 9, Kpler detailed. The figure adds to an estimated 460,000 barrels held in inventories at the beginning of the year.

Originally published on Latin Times