The U.S. Treasury Department said it will allow companies to apply for licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba’s private sector, a move that could help ease the island’s ongoing fuel shortages. The guidance was published this week as Cuba continues to face severe energy constraints affecting daily life and economic activity.
The decision follows a halt in Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba after Washington assumed control over Venezuela’s oil exports earlier this year, following the detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The disruption worsened Cuba’s fuel crisis, straining electricity generation, transportation, and aviation services.
For more than two decades, Venezuela had been Cuba’s primary supplier of crude oil and fuel under a bilateral arrangement that relied largely on barter agreements involving goods and services. Mexico later emerged as an alternative supplier, but those shipments have also stopped in recent months, according to shipping records.
The Treasury’s guidance specifies that any authorized transactions must support the Cuban people, particularly private businesses. Deals that involve or benefit Cuba’s military or state institutions would not be permitted under the policy.
Global trading firms are currently handling a large share of Venezuela’s oil exports, with shipments moving to markets in the United States, Europe, and India. Additional cargoes are reportedly stored at Caribbean terminals, awaiting resale to approved buyers.
President Donald Trump has previously stated that countries receiving Venezuelan oil through swaps or other agreements must now pay market prices for shipments. Those remarks included references to nations such as China and Cuba, which have historically relied on preferential supply terms.
Speaking this week in the Caribbean, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba’s humanitarian challenges stem from internal government policies rather than U.S. restrictions on oil exports. He added that Washington remains willing to support the Cuban people, while placing responsibility on the island’s leadership for blocking assistance.
Despite the new authorization, questions remain over whether Cuban private companies can afford fuel purchases, as the country has struggled to secure financing for spot-market imports in recent years. The U.S. government has said the policy is intended to show that private importers can obtain fuel independently of state-run channels.
Cuba’s government recently announced it would allow small and medium-sized private businesses to import fuel in an effort to reduce pressure on the national power grid. While the state still controls fuel distribution and electricity supply, some private airlines and companies are among the island’s fuel consumers.
The Treasury also clarified that license applicants do not need to operate an established U.S. entity and that earlier restrictions tied to broader Venezuelan oil export licenses would not apply in Cuba’s case. Meanwhile, several fuel cargoes linked to Cuba remain undelivered, underscoring the continued uncertainty surrounding the island’s energy supply.
