CUBA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Cuba is a one-party communist state about 150 km (90 miles) south of Florida, under a US trade embargo since 1962.
- —What happened US exports of fuel to Cuba reached US$74.9 million in August, a tally of Commerce Department data released on Thursday 8 October shows.
- —Why it matters Fuel made up about 37% of all US goods sold to Cuba in August, on an island Washington keeps under sanctions.
- —The record Total US goods exports to Cuba hit US$202.5 million in August, the highest month in Census Bureau records going back to 1992.
- —Since January US sales of fuel to Cuba reached about US$231.7 million from January to August, and all US exports US$876.5 million.
- —What it means for you Exporters face scrutiny: US agents said on Wednesday 7 October they had stopped over US$2.8 million of fuel for a blacklisted Cuban firm.
- —Still open The data name no buyers or sellers, and the Census Bureau publishes September trade figures on Wednesday 4 November.
The United States shipped almost US$75 million of fuel to Cuba in August, a tally of US trade data released on Thursday 8 October shows. The figure is up from about US$61.1 million in July, Diario de Cuba reported on Friday 9 October.
Census Bureau figures show total US goods exports to Cuba reached US$202.5 million in August, the highest month in records going back to 1992. For American exporters the boom carries risk, because federal agents announced a seizure of Cuba-bound fuel on Wednesday 7 October.
What the August Fuel Numbers Show
The product breakdown comes from the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York-based organisation that compiles official US trade data on Cuba. Its table lists product codes, ports and dollar values, but names no exporters or buyers.
Diesel-type light fuel oil with a very low sulphur content led August sales at about US$34.5 million. Unleaded gasoline followed at about US$24.4 million, and other petroleum oils at about US$12.7 million.
Smaller amounts covered liquefied propane worth about US$1.3 million, plus lubricating oils, greases and medicinal-grade white mineral oil. The August total came to exactly US$74,863,132.
The Miami customs district handled about US$49.6 million, or two thirds of the total. Houston-Galveston in Texas shipped about US$19.1 million, New Orleans about US$5.5 million and Tampa about US$0.7 million.
From January to August, the council counts US$231.7 million of US fuel to Cuba, so August alone made up about a third. The jump follows a surge in US fuel shipments in July.
Census Data Show a Record Month for US Sales to Cuba
The US Census Bureau, the federal agency that publishes official trade statistics, put total US goods exports to Cuba at US$202.5 million in August. That compares with US$148.9 million in July and US$89.7 million in August 2025.
Before 2026, no single month in the bureau’s Cuba records, which start in 1992, went above US$89.7 million. From January to August 2026, exports reached US$876.5 million, more than in the whole of 2025.
The 2025 total of US$809.6 million was itself the highest full year in the series. Imports from Cuba stayed close to zero, at about US$0.1 million in August.
Fuel made up about 37% of August exports, against about 26% for the first eight months as a whole. Fuel to Cuba therefore took a far bigger share in August than earlier in the year.
Why Fuel Flows Despite the Embargo
The US embargo bans most trade with Cuba, but some exports can go ahead under US licences and exceptions. Diario de Cuba, an independent Cuban news site published from Madrid, says these are meant in theory for Cuba’s private sector.
Analyst Jorge Piñón of the University of Texas Energy Institute sees Cupet, the Cuban state oil company, as the final receiver, the paper reports. Havana, for its part, accuses Washington of using the licences to create economic dependence.
Diario de Cuba also reports that oil shipments from Venezuela and Mexico stopped after a US tariff threat in January. The paper says the United States has since become Cuba’s main fuel supplier through private channels.
Washington still polices the trade closely. On 13 July, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the US Treasury unit that runs sanctions, blacklisted ENETEC S.A., a Havana fuel wholesaler.
On Wednesday 7 October, US federal agents announced the seizure of Cuba-bound fuel: 90 biodiesel shipments worth more than US$2.8 million, about 615,000 gallons. The cargo was bound for ENETEC and was held at Port Everglades in Florida and the Port of Houston.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez protested against the seizure on Thursday 8 October. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío called the US action piracy, according to Diario de Cuba.
What It Means for You
For US exporters, freight forwarders and banks, the numbers show a growing but risky trade. Fuel to Cuba is legal only with the right licence or exception, and a sanctioned consignee can trigger a seizure.
The data name no US companies, so there is no direct signal for listed energy stocks. The trend matters more for ports in Florida and on the Gulf Coast, which handled all of the August shipments.
For travellers, more imported fuel has not ended power cuts on the island. On Friday 9 October, the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, which Diario de Cuba calls the country’s main plant, broke down again.
It was the plant’s 23rd shutdown of 2026, the paper reported. With the plant out, the peak-hour shortfall topped 2,000 megawatts, by the paper’s count from state grid forecasts.
What Is Not Known
The council’s table does not show who sold the fuel or who received it in Cuba. US agencies have not said how much reached private firms rather than state companies such as Cupet.
The data also do not show how the cargo was paid for, or whether any of it was re-exported. It is unclear whether the seizure announced on 7 October will lead to criminal charges.
The figures do not signal a change in US policy, and the embargo remains in force. The Census Bureau publishes September trade data on Wednesday 4 November, which will show whether the rise continued.
More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much fuel did the US export to Cuba in August?
US exports of fuel and petroleum products to Cuba reached US$74,863,132 in August, according to a tally of US Commerce Department data. From January to August, the total was about US$231.7 million.
Is it legal to ship fuel to Cuba from the United States?
Most trade with Cuba is banned under the US embargo, but some exports can go ahead under US licences and exceptions. Shipments to a blacklisted Cuban company can be seized, as US agents announced on 7 October.
Who buys the fuel in Cuba?
The trade data do not name buyers. Diario de Cuba says the licences are meant for private firms. Some analysts believe the state oil company Cupet is the final receiver.
Were US exports to Cuba a record in August?
Yes. Census Bureau figures show US goods exports to Cuba of US$202.5 million in August, the highest month since its records begin in 1992. Fuel to Cuba made up about 37% of that total.
Sources: US Census Bureau, Trade in Goods with Cuba, 10 October 2026; US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, US Fuels Exports to Cuba January 2026 Through August 2026, October 2026; US Treasury, OFAC Recent Actions, 13 July 2026; US Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Release Schedule, 10 October 2026; Diario de Cuba, 9 October 2026; Diario de Cuba, 7 October 2026; WSVN 7News (Miami), 7 October 2026; Diario de Cuba, 9 October 2026; Diario de Cuba, 9 October 2026.
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