02 March 2026

In a measure intended to strengthen Cuba’s private sector and ease to some extent the humanitarian crisis now facing most Cubans, the US Treasury announced on 25 February that any company licensed to trade Venezuelan oil will be authorised to resell it to non-government entities in Cuba.

A notice from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) clarifying the decision, notes that such transactions must “support the Cuban people,” will allow exports for commercial and humanitarian use only in Cuba, and must not involve the Cuban government or its related bodies. The document also makes clear that non-US companies holding licences will be allowed to apply for permission to ship, but notes that the deposit of sales proceeds must be into an account controlled by the US.

The fact sheet states that to qualify for the new favourable licensing policy, requested transactions would need to be consistent with the terms and conditions of Venezuela General License (GL) 46A, though applicants need not necessarily have an established US entity. It also makes clear that  such transactions cannot involve or benefit any persons or entities associated with the Cuban military, intelligence services, or other government institutions, including entities listed on the US State Department’s Cuba Restricted List.

Although the measure will not resolve the country’s power generation crisis it is likely to offer ordinary Cubans some relief from worsening problems relating to food production and distribution, and an opportunity for non-state providers of everything from transport to hospitality to function again in a limited way.

The US measure is intended to be seen as a way of ensuring the island’s small entrepreneurial private sector can play a greater role in the Cuban economy.

Although prior to the announcement some fuel has been arriving in containers on cargo ships, no significant shipment of oil has reached Cuba from overseas since early January, following the removal of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela by US special forces, and President Trump’s tariff linked embargo on any country supplying oil to  Cuba (Details Cuba Briefing 19 January 2026).

The new measure and its implications have not been commented on by the Cuban government. However, prior to the US announcement it was facilitating the private import of small quantities of oil mainly from regional sources in containerised tanks carried on cargo ships. The development followed a decision by the Cuban government last November to allow the private import of oil (See Cuba Briefing 1 December 2025), and permissions given to several non-state and some international companies operating on the island to do so.

To this end, the Cuban government held meetings with foreign businessmen and local entrepreneurs to explain how such private imports might be managed safely, and exclusively for self-consumption with resale not allowed.

Anecdotal evidence and some media reports indicate that the volume of such containerised imports remains far below the island’s national energy needs of about 100,000 barrels per day of which about 40,000 come from Cuba’s own wells. Despite this, those so far involved in bringing oil and fuel in 26,000 litre containerised ISO T11 tanks have begun to meet the immediate needs of some local businesses. The shipments are being made to the port of Mariel from where they are transported by the buyers for private use.

The US Treasury decision regarding Venezuelan oil is expected to see several US-based companies with licenses to export diesel in ISO tanks to Cuba exclusively for private customers use, move away from the regional purchasing options they have been pursuing. In addition,  companies potentially able to ship to Cuba are international commodity trading firms such as Vitol and Trafigura that reportedly obtained licenses to resell Venezuelan crude in January.

02 March 2026, Issue 1311

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