U.S. Says to Permit Venezuelan Oil Sales to Cuba's Private Sector
OFAC confirmed it will adopt a "favorable licensing policy" for select applications seeking approval to redirect Venezuelan crude to Cuba — a move that carves out limited commercial breathing room amid an otherwise tightening sanctions regime.
Under the revised framework, eligible transactions must serve commercial or humanitarian purposes, or benefit Cuba's private sector. The policy explicitly excludes any dealings that involve — or financially benefit — entities tied to Cuba's armed forces, intelligence apparatus, or state institutions, OFAC stated.
The announcement comes as Washington maintains a hardline stance toward Havana. The United States has designated Cuba "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to national security and moved to cut off the island's Venezuelan oil supply following a January military operation that seized control of President Nicolás Maduro's government. Since that raid, Washington has assumed oversight of Venezuela's oil export operations.
The crackdown was further cemented on Jan. 29, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening punitive tariffs on any country continuing to supply oil to Cuba — a warning directed squarely at Venezuela's remaining trade partners.
The latest OFAC guidance signals that while the U.S. is not softening its broader Cuba policy, it is willing to permit tightly controlled energy flows that bypass government channels and reach the island's emerging private economy.
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