A gas station of CUPET located one block from Villa Marista —the headquarters of the State Security of the Ministry of the Interior in Havana— supplies fuel to vehicles of the regime's repressive apparatus, including units from the state-owned Sepsa, trucks from special brigades known as "black berets," and Suzuki motorcycles used by State Security agents, according to an investigation by 14ymedio.
What makes the discovery particularly serious is the origin of the fuel: according to a report from the independent Cuban media, the fuel dispensed at that service station comes from imports made from the United States, in blatant violation of U.S. regulations that expressly prohibit gasoline from reaching the Cuban state, its armed forces, or its repressive apparatus.
The Trump administration authorized the export of fuel to Cuba in February 2026 under the exception “Support for the Cuban People”, but with strict conditions: the fuel can only be sold to private Cuban entities and cannot go through GAESA, CUPET, or the government, nor can it be allocated to state or repressive structures.
In June, Washington went further and sanctioned CUPET —the Cuban state oil company— adding it to the Specially Designated Nationals list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which blocks its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits any transactions with it.
Despite these restrictions, the flow of fuel from the U.S. has continued to grow: Cuban companies acquired petroleum products worth 156.8 million dollars between January and July 2026, with over 61 million corresponding to the month of July alone.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz informed the National Assembly that more than a hundred private companies had been granted permission to wholesale fuel, and that "the first foreign investment business for the importation, distribution, and sale of fuel" had already been authorized.
The consulting firm Auge warned in March that importing a full isotank of 25,000 liters costs around 50,000 dollars, an amount unreachable for most small private businesses in Cuba, which fuels suspicions that it is the regime itself that finances these purchases through intermediary micro, small, and medium enterprises.
A local resident who alerted 14ymedio described the daily activity in front of the service center: "Every day, hundreds of vehicles of all kinds pass by, from buses for personal transport (to and from the Ministry of the Interior, located in Plaza José Martí), dump trucks, cars with license plates M, B, and P, hundreds of Suzuki motorcycles with their respective riders."
The same complainant pointed out the contradiction that outrages the population: «I wonder how it is possible for them to mock the sanctions against the regime like this. The repressive apparatus is active at 100%, and that has been the case for more than 66 years».
The scandal occurs amid an unprecedented energy collapse. Cuba has gone over five months without receiving a fuel tanker —the second and last one of the year arrived before April—, blackouts have reached deficits exceeding 2,400 MW, and power cuts last up to 20 hours daily in Havana.
The regime publicly denounces an "energy siege", but in practice it can buy fuel in the U.S.; what it can no longer receive is the subsidized supply from Venezuela and Mexico that has supported its economy for decades.
The harshest irony was summed up by a local resident of the service station: “My area, like many others, has been without water for days, and they are unable to send a water truck due to a lack of fuel. What an irony! There’s gasoline to beat people, but not to drink or bathe.”
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