Rubio Sanctions Cuba’s Oil Company CUPET Amid Fuel Shortages

The Trump administration’s oil blockade on Cuba tightened this week as Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Cupet, the national oil company, shortly after the State Department appeared to squash a deal by a Florida company to send 250,000 barrels to the island.

Coral Gables-based Vanguard Energy said this week it had signed an agreement to ship fuel to Cuba’s private sector using storage facilities owned by Cupet. The fuel would have been sold to private businesses as well as humanitarian and religious organizations.

But after the deal was announced, the State Department told the Miami Herald that “Vanguard Energy has not received any U.S. license for this transaction.” Vanguard, meanwhile, maintained that no specific license was required because the Trump administration had already authorized fuel sales to Cuba’s private sector.

The Trump administration appeared to stamp out any prospects of the deal happening when it sanctioned Cupet. Rubio justified the move by accusing Cuba’s leaders of “weaponizing energy resources” while Cubans endure prolonged blackouts. He described Cupet as an “instrument of oppression.”

Rubio’s claims turn reality on its head. For more than four months, the Trump administration has blocked oil shipments to Cuba, a major escalation of its economic war on Cuba.