MEXICO CITY, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday called on U.S. politicians to stop using Mexico as a campaign issue as they gear up for the midterm elections in November.

"Mexico should not be a campaign issue, because they have their own problems in the United States. Mexico is nobody's pinata," the president said at her daily press conference.

The remarks came after Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez accused her government of undermining the U.S. administration's "maximum pressure" policy toward Cuba, following her announcement of a new shipment of humanitarian aid to the Caribbean island.

While Mexico and the United States cooperate on the basis of "collaboration without subordination," Mexico remains committed to its longstanding policy toward Cuba, Sheinbaum said, adding that humanitarian assistance to the island would continue as "a matter of sovereignty" and humanitarianism. ■