The U.S. Department of the Treasury authorized limited shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba on February 25, 2026, a move intended to alleviate a severe energy crisis on the island, according to officials. The decision permits private companies to acquire Venezuelan crude oil under existing licenses and then resell it to Cuba, but explicitly excludes direct shipments between the two nations.
The authorization comes after Venezuela and Mexico, previously Cuba’s primary oil suppliers, suspended their deliveries, triggering widespread power outages and exacerbating the island’s economic difficulties. The policy shift aims to provide Cuba with access to essential resources while preventing the Cuban government or military, which dominate the country’s economy, from directly benefiting from the oil trade. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the sanctions would be reinstated if oil were to reach those entities, as reported by Infobae.
The U.S. Government framed the move as a response to regional concerns about potential instability and increased migration flows stemming from the Cuban economic collapse. Rubio communicated this rationale to leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) during a recent summit in St. Kitts and Nevis, emphasizing that the new approach seeks to facilitate access to resources for the Cuban population, not the ruling regime.
The Department of the Treasury specified that only operations supporting the Cuban people for commercial or humanitarian purposes will be authorized. This approach maintains U.S. Control over the destination of the crude oil, requiring each transaction to meet specific conditions established by the Treasury Department. The authorization does not represent a general lifting of sanctions against Cuba or Venezuela, but rather a limited adjustment within the existing sanctions framework, as clarified by Azteca Noticias.
The decision follows a January 29th executive order by President Donald Trump that threatened tariffs on goods exported to the U.S. From countries supplying oil to Cuba. The current authorization can be viewed as a calibrated response to that earlier threat, opening a limited pathway for Venezuelan oil to reach Cuba while maintaining pressure on the Cuban government.
The U.S. Government has not yet commented on the volume of oil expected to be shipped to Cuba under the new authorization, nor has it specified which companies have received licenses to participate in the trade. The Department of the Treasury has not released a list of approved companies or detailed operational guidelines beyond the stated requirements for commercial or humanitarian use.
