American companies shipped US$74,863,132 worth of fuel to Cuba in August, up from about US$61.1 million in July, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday, October 8. Fuel accounted for roughly 37% of the US$202.5 million in total U.S. goods exports to the island that month—the highest monthly figure in Census Bureau records dating to 1992.
That’s a striking number for a country the United States has embargoed since 1962.
The Numbers
The US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York-based group that compiles official U.S. trade data on Cuba, reported the products and ports involved. Its table doesn’t identify exporters or buyers. Diesel-type light fuel oil with very low sulphur content led the way at about US$34.5 million. Unleaded gasoline followed at about US$24.4 million, while other petroleum oils added about US$12.7 million. Liquefied propane, lubricating oils, greases and medicinal-grade white mineral oil made up the remainder.
The Miami customs district handled about US$49.6 million, or two-thirds of the total. Houston-Galveston shipped about US$19.1 million. New Orleans sent about US$5.5 million, and Tampa about US$0.7 million.
From January through August, fuel exports totaled about US$231.7 million. Across those eight months, all U.S. goods exports to Cuba reached US$876.5 million, already topping the full-year 2025 total of US$809.6 million. Before 2026, no month in the bureau’s Cuba records had exceeded US$89.7 million. Imports from Cuba, meanwhile, came to about US$0.1 million in August. Trade flowed almost entirely one way.
How the Trade Works
The embargo bans most trade with Cuba, though licenses and exceptions allow some exports. Diario de Cuba, an independent Cuban news site published from Madrid, said the exceptions 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 publication reported.
Havana has its own complaint. It accuses Washington of using the licenses to create economic dependence. Diario de Cuba also reported that oil shipments from Venezuela and Mexico stopped after a U.S. tariff threat in January. Since then, the United States has become Cuba’s main fuel supplier through private channels.
Enforcement Steps
Washington isn’t simply letting the fuel flow. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Treasury unit that administers sanctions, blacklisted Havana fuel wholesaler ENETEC S.A. on July 13. Then, on Wednesday, October 7, federal agents announced they had seized 90 Cuba-bound biodiesel shipments worth more than US$2.8 million, or about 615,000 gallons. The cargo was bound for ENETEC. Agents held it at Port Everglades in Florida and the Port of Houston.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez protested the seizure Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío called the U.S. action piracy, Diario de Cuba reported. U.S. agencies haven’t said whether the seizure will lead to criminal charges.
What the Data Doesn’t Show
The figures leave big questions open. They don’t show who sold or received the fuel, how the cargo was paid for, whether any fuel was re-exported, or how much went to private firms rather than state companies such as Cupet. The numbers don’t indicate a change in U.S. policy, and the embargo remains in force.
The shipments haven’t fixed Cuba’s grid. The Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, which Diario de Cuba described as the country’s main plant, broke down again Friday, October 9. It was the plant’s 23rd shutdown of 2026. With the plant offline, the peak-hour shortfall topped 2,000 megawatts, based on the publication’s count from state grid forecasts. The Census Bureau is scheduled to release September trade figures on Wednesday, November 4.
Why This Matters:
The data show licensed American commerce supplying a government-run economy that still can’t keep its lights on. That’s a policy question worth asking openly. Roughly US$232 million in fuel has moved in eight months, yet the main power plant keeps failing and buyers remain unidentified. Lawmakers weighing the embargo’s exceptions will want to know whether private-sector licenses are working as intended or whether Cupet, the state oil company, is the real end user. The OFAC blacklisting and biodiesel seizure suggest enforcement is tightening even as volumes climb. The September figures, due November 4, will show whether that tension persists.