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Edward Robert Martin Jr., U.S. Pardons Attorney at the Department of Justice, posted a message of support for the sanctions against Cuba this Friday on his official X account: “A free Cuba will be a great Cuba. Make Cuba great again”.
The tweet from Martin, which adapts the flagship slogan of the MAGA movement to the Cuban situation, was a direct response to the announcement made the previous day by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he sanctioned the Cuban Oil Union (CUPET) under Executive Order 14404 of President Trump.
Rubio accused the regime of having weaponized energy "as a tool for social control and kleptocratic profit," noting that the fuel was allocated to the Castro family's private plane, the repressive security forces, and tourist hotels, while the Cuban people suffered from blackouts and waited weeks to fill their car tanks.
The sanction against CUPET blocks all its assets and interests under U.S. jurisdiction and exposes any foreign company maintaining ties with the entity in the sectors of energy, defense, metals, financial services, or security to secondary sanctions.
It was the second major action under EO 14404 in less than five weeks: on May 7, Rubio had already imposed sanctions on GAESA and its executive president. The timeline of pressure also includes sanctions against MININT, PNR, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, and the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The sanction also definitively closed the door on the agreement that Vanguard Energy, a company from Coral Gables, Florida, had signed to lease facilities from CUPET and send more than 250,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel per trip, described as the largest shipment of U.S. fuel to Cuba since the Eisenhower era.
The State Department denied having authorized that operation on June 10.
Martin, whose account @EdMartinDOJ has an institutional character as an official position of the Department of Justice, does not have direct authority over foreign policy or sanctions.
His message represents a political alignment with the Trump administration's narrative on Cuba, in line with what Rubio stated: "President Trump desires a new future for the Cuban people with greater freedom and economic and political opportunities."
The energy context on the island is critical. Since January 2026, the Venezuelan supply of approximately 70,000 barrels per day has been interrupted following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
The electrical deficit reached a record of 2,153 MW on May 13, with blackouts lasting up to 22 hours a day in Havana.
The Cuban Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged that the island had "absolutely no fuel, no diesel".
Rubio was emphatic when announcing that the pressure will not relent: "We will continue to undermine the communist regime's ability to use its energy trade to promote its corrupt agenda and violently repress the Cuban people."
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