US quietly ships 30,000 barrels to Cuba's private sector as state blockade holds

The United States has exported roughly 30,000 barrels of fuel to Cuba's private sector since early February, Reuters reported, disclosing for the first time the scale of a carve-out that allows private Cuban firms to receive American energy supplies even as Washington maintains a strict oil blockade against the communist government.

The 30,000-barrel volume - equivalent to just over one-tenth of a medium-sized tanker's capacity - represents a fraction of Cuba's historical requirement of roughly 100,000 barrels per day to sustain oil-fired power plants and meet domestic demand, but the figures are growing week by week, according to shipping documents, said Reuters.

The fuel has arrived primarily in ISO tanks, each holding approximately 21,600 litres, transported on container ships. Around 200 such tanks have been discharged in Cuba. Of these, 99% contained diesel; only 1% held gasoline. A total of 61 container ships carrying goods imported by private companies have called at Cuban ports so far in 2026, with most discharging at Mariel, west of Havana.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the policy as deliberate economic differentiation "entirely designed to put the private sector and individual private Cubans - not affiliated with the government, not affiliated with the military - in a privileged position," Rubio said.

He pointed out, however, that licences would be cancelled if any firm was found diverting fuel to the regime or military. Critics, including Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, warned the policy may still benefit the regime through intermediaries.

Videos circulating on social media this week showed Havana's five-star hotels fully illuminated while hospitals and residential areas across the capital remained without power, an image that the newly disclosed US private-sector fuel supplies go some way towards explaining.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance in February authorising exports and re-exports of gas and petroleum products to eligible Cuban private-sector entities, known as MIPYMES. But Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated last week the island had received no fuel in three months, making no reference to private-sector supplies.

Meanwhile, Cuba's port traffic nearly collapsed in March, with only 11 vessel calls recorded — all from domestic ports — the lowest figure since 2017, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward cited by AP. 

The crisis, which triggered a wave of nationwide blackouts, has its roots in the severance of subsidised Venezuelan oil following the fall of Cuban ally Nicolás Maduro in January.

It has been compounded by a US executive order threatening tariffs on any country supplying fuel to the island, a measure that has successfully deterred Mexico and other potential suppliers from maintaining shipments.

The US Treasury has added the island nation to the list of countries barred from receiving Russian oil, prohibiting transactions related to the sale, supply or delivery of crude and petroleum products of Russian origin to the island. 

After a Hong-Kong-flagged vessel headed for Cuba diverted to Trinidad and Tobago last week, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was still crossing the Atlantic bound for the Cuban port of Matanzas, according to vessel-tracking data.

Whether it will be permitted to discharge its cargo will serve as a further test of Washington's enforcement posture.