2026-02-26 18:53
publication
2026-02-26 18:53
The U.S. Department of Finance's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it will issue licenses to companies that want to re-export Venezuelan crude oil to Cuba. It stressed that the agreements must “support the Cuban people” and cannot include entities linked to the Cuban military, intelligence or government agencies.
Recipients will be able to use the purchased fuel to meet both humanitarian and commercial needs. The authorities stressed that if oil was supplied to the government or military, the licenses would be revoked.
In the last days of January, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order initiating the process of imposing sanctions on goods from countries that transfer oil to Cuba. Trump declared an emergency because, as he said, “the government of Cuba is taking extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States.”
The media assessed that Cuba was in an almost hopeless situation. The island is completely dependent on imported liquid fuels to power its electricity system, transport and communications.
The last shipment of oil to Cuba arrived on January 9 from Mexico, which froze exports after Trump's threats. Venezuela, the island's second-largest supplier of crude oil, halted deliveries after January 3, when U.S. special forces captured its leader Nicolas Maduro. As a result, life in Cuba practically came to a standstill: the authorities restricted electricity supplies, fuel sales and public transport, sent employees on leave and banned refueling of foreign planes. Interruptions in the operation of local power plants have increased to up to 20 hours a day.
Even before the oil blockade, Cuba was experiencing its worst and longest economic crisis since the communist takeover in 1959. The embargo significantly exacerbated these problems.
Leaders of Caribbean countries have expressed concern about the situation. Jamaica's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, warned that the prolonged crisis in Cuba would affect neighboring countries. The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Terrence Drew, admitted that the destabilization of the island poses a threat to the entire region.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded by arguing that the crisis was provoked by the economic policies of the Cuban government and the weakness of the private sector. He emphasized that Havana must implement deep reforms, otherwise the situation will not improve. The island, he said Wednesday, must change “dramatically.”
President Trump, asked shortly after the blockade was implemented about concerns that it would lead to a humanitarian crisis, replied that the situation could change if Cuban authorities “make a deal.” – I think they will probably come to us and want to reach an agreement. Then Cuba will be free again. They will come to us and make a deal, Trump said. – We'll be nice. We have a very bad situation for Cuba. They have no money. They have no oil. Cuba lived on Venezuelan money and oil, and now none of it will come, he added. (PAP)
os/ mal/
