Scandal: Cuba resold 60% of the oil sent by Venezuela, according to a US official

While millions of Cubans endure prolonged blackouts and a chronic fuel shortage, the island's government has reportedly resold much of the subsidized oil it received from Venezuela, according to a senior U.S. official.

The information was revealed to El Nuevo Herald, which published an investigation based on data from a previously undisclosed analysis by the United States government.

According to that source, Cuba received around 70,000 barrels per day of crude oil and derivatives from Venezuela between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025, but subsequently sent about 40,000 barrels per day, nearly 60%, to Asia for resale.

The official, belonging to the State Department, referred to the resale of oil as "yet another proof that the illegitimate Cuban regime only prioritizes its own enrichment," while the people suffer the consequences of the most severe energy and economic crisis in decades.

“Ordinary Cubans deserve to know the truth about why the regime hides billions in bank accounts abroad instead of investing in electricity, infrastructure, and basic needs,” he stated.

For years, experts had suspected that some of Venezuela's oil did not end up in Cuban thermal power plants. Last December, U.S. forces seized a tanker from the so-called "dark fleet" off the Venezuelan coast that had transferred part of its cargo to a ship bound for Cuba before continuing its journey to Asia, likely to China.

The figures now revealed far exceed the previous estimates. Researchers and agencies like Reuters had estimated that shipments from Venezuela ranged from 27,000 to 30,000 barrels per day, enough to cover almost half of Cuba's oil deficit. The new analysis from the U.S. government suggests that the actual volume was much larger and that a significant portion never reached the island.

This scandal emerges at a particularly critical moment. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in early January and the collapse of the energy alliance between Caracas and Havana, Cuba has been left virtually without its main oil support.

In parallel, oil tankers delivering fuel to Cuba have begun to divert mid-journey, as recently happened with the ship Mia Grace, which changed its destination to the Dominican Republic. At the same time, Venezuelan crude is once again flowing to the United States under new agreements, leaving the island out of the regional energy restructuring.