HAVANA/HOUSTON - U.S. suppliers have shipped approximately 30,000 barrels of fuel to Cuba’s private sector so far this year, according to documents and shipping data reviewed by the author. That volume - about 1.27 million gallons (4.8 million liters) - represents a small fraction of Cuba’s overall fuel needs but indicates that the U.S. policy to favor private businesses over state-run entities is being implemented in practice.
The shipments began to move in earnest in early February, after a period in which the United States enforced a de facto oil blockade against the island following actions taken in January. Since that time, Washington has sought to restrict fuel supplies to Cuba’s government while carving out an exception to permit exports and re-exports of U.S. gas and petroleum products to eligible private-sector entities.
Scale and context
The amount imported by private companies since early February - around 30,000 barrels - equals just over one tenth of the capacity of a typical medium-size fuel tanker. By contrast, Cuba previously required about 100,000 barrels per day of imported fuel to run power plants and meet vehicle and aviation demand, underscoring that the private-sector flows meet only a small portion of the island’s needs.
Despite the limited scale, shipping manifests and vessel tracking show that volumes destined for private businesses have increased week by week. The movement has been concentrated through container ship lines discharging at Cuban ports, most notably Mariel, west of Havana.
Container traffic and origins
So far this year, 61 container ships carrying a range of products imported by private companies - fuel among them - have discharged in Cuba. These vessels frequently shuttle between Cuban ports and destinations in the United States, Europe and other Caribbean nations. That figure is down slightly from the 75 container ships recorded in the same period last year, based on vessel tracking data analyzed by the author.
Some of the Cuba-bound container ships departed from major energy hubs where coal, crude and refined products are loaded, but most vessels arrived categorized at origin as multi-purpose carriers, meaning they carry varied cargoes rather than a single commodity. Shipments originating in the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly through Southwest Pass in Louisiana - a major energy corridor - have increased. Nevertheless, most U.S.-originated container ships to Cuba this year departed from Florida.
Who is receiving fuel and how it is used
The fresh import flows have enabled some private businesses to maintain operations amid a broader fuel squeeze that has hit public transportation, electricity generation and tourism. Since early February, fuel has begun to trickle into private-sector companies that were initially paralyzed by the blockade, according to three businesspeople with direct knowledge of the shipments and documents reviewed by the author.
The list of private importers includes small bakeries supplying urban markets, wholesalers distributing to micro and small retailers, and larger online grocers such as Supermarket23. One source with direct knowledge said Supermarket23 notified customers in February that it had paused orders because of a fuel shortage but has since imported fuel and resumed deliveries. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Commercial resale of the imported fuel is not permitted under the program rules cited by private sources; the shipments are intended only for use by the importing companies. Private firms have also implemented tight internal controls to help ensure the program’s permissions are not violated, the business sources said.
Storage, handling and product mix
Most imports arrive in ISO tanks - intermodal containers designed to hold and transport roughly 21,600 liters of fuel safely on container ships - and documentation shows about 200 such tanks have been discharged in Cuba. The overwhelming majority of the shipments are diesel; only about 1% of the tanks contained gasoline. The shipping data reviewed indicates that most of the diesel originated from the United States.
Gasoline’s greater flammability and the island’s limited modern storage infrastructure make it less common in these shipments. Businesses have located white ISO tanks of diesel beside existing facilities or rented idle Cuban infrastructure to store larger quantities while restricting distribution strictly to private-sector users.
Cuban authorities have put safety rules in place to regulate private-sector storage and dispatch of the imported fuel, according to a Cuban government source cited in the documents. These measures are intended to oversee handling and limit diversion of the product away from approved users.
Policy guardrails and enforcement
The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security in February issued guidance authorizing exports and re-exports of U.S. gas and petroleum products to eligible Cuban private-sector entities. Cuba’s government, in turn, said it would permit private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises - known locally as MIPYMES - to import fuel to help ease the energy crisis.
The U.S. program includes a clear enforcement caveat. As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio put it in February: "If we catch the private sector there playing games and diverting it to the regime or to the military company, if we find that they’re moving that stuff around in ways that violate the spirit and the scope of these permissions, those licenses will be canceled." Private companies and Cuban authorities alike say they are taking steps to prevent violations.
Official statements and public acknowledgment
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said last week the island had not received any fuel in three months, but he did not reference the private-sector imports. The lack of public mention of these private deliveries leaves an incomplete official picture of how much fuel has entered Cuba through private channels.
Meanwhile, the broader U.S. approach since January has included blocking Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba and threatening tariffs on any other countries that ship fuel to the island. The author’s review of shipping records shows that, despite those pressures, commercial container traffic carrying assorted goods - including fuel for private importers - has continued to arrive.
What this means for Cuban businesses and services
The limited but growing private-sector fuel imports have provided immediate operational relief to specific businesses that rely on deliveries and generators. Sectors that stand to benefit include urban retail and grocery delivery, small-scale food production such as bakeries, and logistics services tied to online commerce. However, given the volumes involved relative to national demand, the flows are not positioned to resolve wider problems affecting public transportation, electricity generation or tourism without much larger sustained imports.
All parties involved - importing firms, Cuban regulators and U.S. licensing authorities - appear to be balancing the desire to support private economic activity against the stated U.S. objective of constraining fuel access to Cuba’s government and military-linked entities.
Reporting for this article drew on shipping manifests, vessel tracking data and interviews with businesspeople and officials familiar with the private-sector fuel imports.