U.S. allows Venezuelan oil resales to Cuba’s private sector
The United States will authorize companies to seek licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba’s private sector, according to new guidance posted by the U.S. Treasury Department, a move that could partially ease the island’s acute fuel shortages, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
Since Washington assumed control over Venezuela’s oil exports in January following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, shipments to Cuba have stopped, deepening the energy crisis in the Caribbean nation. For over 25 years, Venezuela had supplied crude and fuel to Cuba under a bilateral barter arrangement.
The Treasury guidance states that transactions must “support the Cuban people, including the private sector,” and excludes deals involving the Cuban military or other state institutions.
Speaking from Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba’s humanitarian crisis stems from domestic policies rather than U.S. measures.
“What the Cuban people should know is this: that if they are hungry and they are suffering, it's not because we're not prepared to help them. We are. It's that the people standing in the way of us helping them is the regime, the Communist Party,” Rubio said.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously stated that Venezuela’s allies, including China and Cuba, must pay fair market prices for its oil.
Despite the new policy, it remains unclear whether Cuban companies can afford purchases, as the island has struggled to pay for spot market fuel imports. Earlier this month, Havana allowed micro, small and medium sized enterprises to import fuel independently.
Several fuel cargoes have remained undelivered since December amid tightened U.S. controls. No oil shipments have departed Venezuela without Washington’s authorization, further straining Cuba’s power generation and transport sectors.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued broad general licenses authorizing major Western and American energy firms, including BP, Chevron, Eni, Repsol and Shell, to conduct oil and gas operations in Venezuela under defined conditions, with requirements that royalty and related payments be directed to accounts overseen by the U.S. Treasury, reflecting Washington’s management of Venezuelan oil proceeds.
