For the first time in decades, American fuel is flowing south to Cuba. A Florida-based company is close to completing what would be the largest US fuel shipment to the island since the Cold War-era embargo locked down trade between the two nations.
The shipment is part of a broader, if modest, policy shift by the Trump administration that has authorized limited fuel exports to Cuba’s private sector. As of late March 2026, roughly 30,000 barrels of fuel had been shipped to Cuba from US ports, primarily out of Florida. Cuba’s daily diesel consumption sits around 22,000 barrels. The total amount shipped over weeks barely covers a day and a half of the island’s needs.
Why fuel is suddenly crossing the Florida Straits
Venezuela, Cuba’s longtime energy benefactor, has seen its subsidized oil deliveries to the island curtailed since early 2026. With that pipeline drying up, Cuba has been plunged into a serious energy crisis marked by prolonged blackouts and mounting economic distress.
The Trump administration is allowing American companies to sell fuel to Cuban private businesses, but the policy explicitly blocks any sales to the Cuban government, military, or entities connected to the state apparatus. Every shipment has to be scrubbed clean of any connection to Cuban government entities, military organizations, or state-affiliated labor unions.
