Mexico evaluates sending fuel aid to Cuba without triggering US penalties

This week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that Cuba risks a humanitarian "collapse" if it does not receive oil to meet its needs.

Mexico, and in particular the ruling Morena party, has long maintained ideological and historical ties with Cuba, and President Claudia Sheinbaum is under pressure from within her coalition to not abandon Havana.

Three of the four sources said talks are progressing and they were hopeful a solution could be reached. Mexico could dispatch a tanker with gasoline to the island, as well as food and other supplies all classified as humanitarian aid within days if an agreement is reached, two of the sources said.

"Imposing tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba could trigger a far-reaching humanitarian crisis, directly affecting hospitals, food, and other basic services for the Cuban people, a situation that must be avoided through respect for international law and dialogue," Sheinbaum said last Friday.

(Reporting by Diego Oré; Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera and Ana Isabel Martínez in Mexico City and Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Nia Williams)