In a significant adjustment to its Cuba sanctions regime, the United States announced on Wednesday that it will permit the sale and resale of Venezuelan-origin oil to Cuba, but only under tightly controlled conditions aimed at supporting the Cuban people and private businesses.
The guidance, issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), introduces a “favourable licensing policy” that allows companies to seek authorisation to resell Venezuelan oil for commercial and humanitarian use in Cuba’s private sector.
To qualify, such transactions must directly benefit the Cuban people or private enterprises and must not involve the Cuban government, military, intelligence services or other state institutions.
The move marks a recalibration in Washington’s approach after a strict blockade implemented in early January effectively cut off Cuba’s long-standing supply of Venezuelan crude and fuel, a lifeline the island had relied on for more than 25 years under a bilateral energy pact.
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The suspension of Venezuelan supplies, followed by Mexico’s halt of alternative shipments earlier this year, exacerbated a deepening energy crisis across Cuba, triggering widespread blackouts, transport paralysis and disruptions in agriculture and health services.
While the new policy could help alleviate some of the hardship, it does not lift sanctions on either Cuba or Venezuela, and continues to bar sales that would benefit state or security sectors.
The United States framed the policy as a targeted humanitarian and commercial relief mechanism, but analysts caution that the practical effect will hinge on whether private sector actors in Cuba can secure financing and logistics to import and distribute fuel under the OFAC licensing framework, a challenging prospect given Cuba’s struggling economy.
Regional leaders have expressed concern that Cuba’s deepening fuel shortage could have broader consequences for stability in the Caribbean, adding pressure on Washington to calibrate its sanctions strategy.
Although the US retains core sanctions, the conditional opening to Venezuelan oil sales underscores a nuanced policy shift aimed at balancing geopolitical pressure with humanitarian needs on the island.
