Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says she has been talking with ambassadors for Mexico and other Latin American countries about how to navigate Trump administration penalties for supplying oil to Cuba, which appears on the brink of economic collapse.

The Washington state lawmaker made the comment in a speech Monday, after visiting the Communist-led island nation. 

She said Cuba is facing a humanitarian crisis "beyond imagination" as a result of administration policies, according to the Tampa Free Press.

Cuba was getting its oil from Venezuela, but those shipments ended after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In January, President Trump signed an executive order placing heavy tariffs on any country providing Cuba oil, and he later imposed sanctions on foreign banks and firms doing business with Cuba. 

Since Maduro was removed, Jayapal said, only one Russian tanker has got past the U.S. de facto embargo, which provided 10 to 14 days of fuel.