Federal authorities in the United States revealed on Wednesday at a press conference in Miami the details of an operation that intercepted 90 shipments of biodiesel bound for Cuba, valued at nearly 3 million dollars, as part of the maximum energy pressure the Trump administration maintains against the Havana regime.
According to CBS News, the action was executed jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce.
The three agencies confirmed that the shipments were addressed to ENETEC S.A., a Cuban state-owned wholesale fuel company based in Havana that was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury in July.
The agencies detected the illegal operation weeks before the announcement, when intelligence revealed that fuel exported from U.S. territory was reaching a sanctioned entity in violation of current export restrictions.
In early September, after analyzing commercial and intelligence data, CBP identified shipments of biodiesel departing from Port Everglades in Florida and Port of Houston in Texas, heading to Havana.
In Port Everglades, 71 storage tanks containing approximately 500,000 gallons of biodiesel were seized, while in Houston, 19 additional shipments were captured with nearly 120,000 gallons more, for a total exceeding 620,000 gallons.
The interdictions were carried out for alleged violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the regulations of the Export Administration. At the time of the announcement, the agencies did not identify the exporters involved nor reported whether criminal charges had been filed.
Jose Figueroa, special agent in charge of HSI Miami, promised that the agency will continue to work with its partners to "keep identifying, interrupting, and investigating efforts to evade U.S. sanctions, protect the integrity of export controls, and deny the Cuban government access to resources obtained in violation of the law."
Daniel Alonso, Director of Field Operations at the CBP, added that the agency "remains steadfast in enforcing U.S. laws in all areas, both in incoming trade and outgoing shipments."
This operation adds to a series of previous maritime interdictions by the Coast Guard against ships carrying fuel intended for Cuba.
Last week it was announced that on September 5, the Coast Guard boarded the cargo ship Grace, approximately 300 feet long, in the Caribbean between Cuba and Mexico, and escorted it to the Mexican port of Progreso, where the Mexican Navy confirmed large quantities of fuel in its ballast tanks and containers.
Previously, at the end of June, the Coast Guard had intercepted the Jaira Provider near Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, with more than 200,000 gallons of diesel on board.
The energy pressure on Cuba has intensified throughout 2026 following the suspension of Venezuelan oil shipments—since November 2025—and the drastic reduction of supplies from Mexico. The island produces about 40,000 barrels per day but needs between 90,000 and 110,000, making it dependent on imports to cover nearly 60% of its demand.
The crisis translates into daily blackouts ranging from 20 to 24 hours, and even longer in multiple locations, along with at least six total collapses of the national electrical system so far this year. In Havana, the outages have disrupted water pumping, affecting around 3.5 million people, and have caused disruptions in hospitals, transportation, and food storage.
The Cuban regime has accused Washington of "economic war" and "aggression." For his part, President Donald Trump has not ruled out the use of military force against Cuba, although in September he expressed hope for reaching an agreement. At the end of that month, the Reserve Army was consulted about its capacity to support the Southern Command in a potential action concerning the island.
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