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Two Mexican Navy ships docked in Cuba on Thursday carrying humanitarian aid for the Caribbean island nation in the middle of a severe energy crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n The ships carried hundreds of tons of food and supplies. The Mexican government said that one ship contained 536 tons of food \u2013 including milk, beans, sardines, and cookies \u2013 while the other contained about 277 tons of powdered milk, according to the <\/span>Associated Press<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The arrival of aid comes weeks after President Donald Trump increased pressure on the Cuban economy, <\/span>threatening<\/span><\/a> tariffs against any nation that supplies Cuba with oil. Cuba has since instituted increasingly strict rules around the use of its remaining fuel supplies.<\/span><\/p>\n The aid delivers on a promise Mexico made to its ally to help as the United States bears down economically on the dictatorial regime in power in Havana. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signalled said she would like to help Cuba more, but does not want to violate the U.S. blockade on oil.<\/span><\/p>\n As soon as the ships return, \u201cwe will send more support of different kinds,\u201d Sheinbaum said on Thursday, according to <\/span>The Guardian<\/span><\/a>. Sheinbaum is negotiating a delicate balance between the risk of angering Washington and aiding Mexico\u2019s ally in the Caribbean.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe energy pressure that Trump is exerting on <\/span>Cuba<\/span><\/a> places Mexico in a dilemma that is very characteristic of its entire history of diplomatic relations with the United States and Cuba,\u201d Cuban historian Rafael Rojas told The Guardian. \u201cMexico is yielding to the demands of the United States \u2013 and on the other hand it maintains its solidarity with the island.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cuba\u2019s energy crisis began after the U.S. arrest of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in early January. After Maduro was extradited to New York for trial on charges related to drug trafficking, the United States took control of Venezuela\u2019s oil exports, stopping exports to Cuba and cutting off Havana from its main supplier of fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n Almost immediately after the arrest of Maduro, Washington turned its focus to Cuba. Top Trump officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio have advocated for Havana\u2019s current regime to topple.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro,\u201d Rubio <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> the day after Maduro\u2019s arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n