US firm plans 250,000-barrel fuel cargo for crisis-hit Cuba
Why it matters: The shipment would be the largest US fuel delivery to Cuba since 1960 and could ease blackouts for private businesses.
A Florida trading company is moving to send Cuba 250,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel, a cargo that would mark the biggest US fuel shipment to the island since Washington froze most trade in 1960. Vanguard Energy President Matthew Klann said the company has been sending smaller loads already and is now lining up 100,000 barrels of gasoline and 150,000 barrels of diesel from a Texas refinery. He said the fuel is meant only for Cuba’s private sector, not state entities, and that the company has secured approval from the Cuban government. The talks come as Cuba faces an acute energy crisis, with prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages after tighter US pressure on Venezuela and failed efforts by Russia to help supply the island.