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Teresa Elena Frontado

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, escalating pressure on Havana’s communist government and targeting a sector central to the island’s worsening energy crisis.
The move came hours after senior Chinese and Cuban officials held a video conference to discuss bilateral cooperation and party-to-party ties.
According to statements released by Chinese and Cuban officials, the talks involved Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, and Emilio Lozada Garcia, head of the International Relations Department of Cuba’s Communist Party.
The two sides exchanged views on implementing agreements reached by the countries’ leaders, expanding inter-party exchanges and advancing what they described as a China-Cuba community with a shared future.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo, known as CUPET, under Executive Order 14404, a measure signed by US President Donald Trump in May authorising broad restrictions on Cuban government entities and officials.


The designation blocks CUPET’s property and interests under US jurisdiction and raises the risk of sanctions for foreign companies and financial institutions that engage in certain transactions involving the company.
Cuba’s government did not immediately respond to Thursday’s announcement.
The timing highlights the increasingly international dimension of Washington’s campaign against Havana, which the Trump administration has linked not only to human rights concerns but also to Cuba’s ties with geopolitical rivals, including China and Russia.
The sanctions are the latest step in a broad effort by the Trump administration to increase pressure on Cuba.
Since returning to office, Trump has expanded sanctions authorities, tightened restrictions on state-owned enterprises and accused Havana of posing a threat to US national security.
It also followed a visit on Wednesday by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where he delivered a forceful critique of Cuba’s government and underscored the administration’s hardline posture towards the island.
“What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba,” Hegseth said to a group of US military stationed on the base at the southeastern tip of the island.
“No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency.”
The administration has not announced any plans for military action against Cuba, but the comments add to a series of increasingly aggressive statements by senior officials as Washington seeks to pressure Havana economically and diplomatically.

“Cuba’s Communist elites have weaponised energy as a tool of social control and kleptocratic profit,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the move.
“We will continue to target the Communist regime’s ability to leverage its energy trade to further its corrupt agenda and violently repress the Cuban people.”
The action also comes as Cuba struggles through one of its most severe energy crises in decades.
Recurring nationwide blackouts, fuel shortages, and a sharp decline in oil imports have disrupted daily life across the island, forcing schools and businesses to suspend activities at times and leaving many residents without electricity for hours each day.
The prolonged outages have become a defining feature of life on the island over the past year, affecting transport, food storage, communications and industrial production.
Cuban officials have blamed US sanctions and difficulties securing fuel supplies, while Washington argues that decades of economic mismanagement and underinvestment by the communist government are responsible for the country’s deteriorating energy infrastructure.
The designation could cast uncertainty over a recently announced arrangement involving Florida-based fuel trader Vanguard Energy, which sought to use CUPET-owned storage facilities to supply fuel to Cuba’s private sector, humanitarian organisations and religious groups.
The Miami Herald reported this week that the Florida-based company had reached an agreement to lease storage facilities controlled by CUPET and import petrol and diesel for private businesses on the island.

Supporters of the plan said it could help ease fuel shortages while avoiding direct sales to the Cuban government.
However, Trump administration officials later indicated that transactions involving Cuban state-owned enterprises covered by Executive Order 14404 could require additional US government authorisation, potentially complicating the arrangement.
The sanctions announcement did not specifically address the Vanguard agreement.
Rubio said the measures were intended to support the administration’s efforts to promote political and economic change in Cuba while targeting entities linked to repression and the country’s security apparatus.
The US State Department said the sanctions also advance objectives outlined in previous executive actions aimed at encouraging democratic reforms and free-market activity on the island.


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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo after Havana and Beijing hold positive bilateral talks


Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo after Havana and Beijing hold positive bilateral talks.


US targets Cuba oil giant as Beijing and Havana deepen party ties

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo after Havana and Beijing hold positive bilateral talks

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo after Havana and Beijing hold positive bilateral talks