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The United States exported a total of $2,548,110 in gasoline and fuel oil to Cuba between January and February 2026, according to data published last Friday by the U.S.-Cuba Economic and Trade Council.
The figures, according to Cuban Trade, take on particular significance due to the context in which they occurred: the White House had imposed a blockade on oil imports by the Cuban state while simultaneously allowing fuel sales to the non-state sector on the island.
The breakdown shows that in January, exports were modest: only 87,746 dollars in light fuel oil purchased in Galveston and Houston, Texas. In February, the figures skyrocketed significantly, according to Diario de Cuba.
Purchases of light fuel oil in February amounted to 2,266,154 dollars, coming from Galveston, Miami, and New Orleans.
This included $113,230 in leaded gasoline from Miami, $14,167 in unleaded gasoline from Galveston, and another $34,703 from Miami.
Regarding fuel oil, purchases amounted to 35,520 dollars in Miami and 109,820 in New Orleans.
The transition from January to February coincides with the publication on February 25 of a guide from the Office of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce that formally authorized the export of U.S. gas and petroleum products to the private sector in Cuba, under the Exception License known as "Support for the Cuban People," as long as the sales do not benefit the government, military entities, or state organizations.
This policy is part of the dual strategy of the Trump administration: blocking fuel to the Cuban state while allowing —and encouraging— its flow to the non-state private sector.
In January, Trump signed Executive Order 14380, declaring Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to national security and imposing tariffs on countries that supplied oil to the island.
Mexico, which accounted for 44% of Cuba's crude oil imports, suspended its shipments on January 27; Venezuela also halted supply following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
At the end of March, the agency Reuters confirmed that U.S. suppliers had sent approximately 30,000 barrels of fuel —about 4.8 million liters— to the Cuban non-state sector since February, transported in around 200 isotanks aboard 61 ships primarily destined for the port of Mariel.
Beneficiaries include private bakeries, wholesalers supplying small urban markets, and online stores like Supermarket23.
The latter had announced in February that it was suspending orders due to a lack of fuel, but later resumed operations after making imports from the U.S.
The data indicates that the oil embargo imposed by Washington is partial: it affects the Cuban state but allows the flow of fuel to the non-state sector.
Thus, the regime itself acknowledged it, announcing that it would allow small and medium-sized enterprises to import fuel to alleviate the energy crisis.
However, the magnitude of the problem far exceeds these shipments. Cuba needs about 100,000 barrels daily of fuel and only produces between 40,000 and 45,000 locally.
The 30,000 barrels sent by the U.S. since February represent only 0.5% of the country's historical daily needs.
The Cuban Deputy Minister Argelio Jesús Abad Vigoa admitted on March 21 that the country has been three months without sufficient supplies, and power outages have reached deficits of up to 1,945 MW, with cuts lasting up to twenty hours a day in some provinces.
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