While Mexico was calling for a peaceful solution to the crisis between the United States and Venezuela at the United Nations, two oil tankers flying the Liberian flag were sailing near Cuba. Both vessels had departed from the port of Coatzacoalcos in the Mexican state of Veracruz, specifically from the Pajaritos terminal owned by the Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex),
Mexico's state-run oil company said Tuesday that the torrential rains that left dozens dead and missing in east-central Mexico also damaged a pipeline, leading to a 5-mile (8-kilometer) spill along the Pantepec River. Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, said in a statement that its crews had reacted "immediately" to stop and contain the spill around the town of Alamo, one of the communities hit hardest by the recent flooding.