The ‘Eugenia Gas’, docked in Puerto Jose, will carry the fuel used for cooking on the Island.
14ymedio, Madrid, March 2, 2026 – After two months wandering around the Caribbean in its search for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used for cooking in Cuba, the tanker Eugenia Gas is finally loading at the Venezuelan port of Jose. The vessel, sailing under the flag of Belize, is part of Cuba’s coastal fleet and saw its attempt to obtain fuel in Kingston (Jamaica) thwarted three weeks ago.
“Until the bill of lading is made public, we will not know who the shipper, the consignee, and the carrier are that are requesting authorization for the resale of Venezuelan-origin oil for use in Cuba in compliance with the recent United States sanctions,” Jorge Piñón, an expert from the University of Texas, told 14ymedio.
After confirming that the ship is finally being loaded, the specialist laid out the three fundamental questions surrounding what will be the first shipment from the state-owned PDVSA since Nicolás Maduro’s capture by the United States.
The sale may have been carried out by the Venezuelan oil company, but it could also have been Vitol or Trafigura, the two major commodity trading firms that, according to the international press, obtained licenses to resell PDVSA crude and have already made exports to the United States and several European countries.
The sale may have been carried out by the Venezuelan oil company, but it could also have been Vitol or Trafigura, the two major commodity trading firms that, according to the international press, obtained licenses for resale.
They could also be the buyers and transporters, but Piñón does not rule out CubaMetales itself, although Washington’s sanctions do not contemplate the possibility of the fuel passing through the hands of the State.
Lastly, one fundamental question remains: how much did the LPG cost and who is paying for it? Barely a week after Maduro’s capture, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on his social network: “Cuba lived, for many years, off large quantities of oil and money from Venezuela. In exchange, Cuba provided ‘security services’ to the last two Venezuelan dictators. But no more! There will be no more oil or money for Cuba! Zero!”
At the end of January, he took another step: imposing tariffs on countries that delivered fuel to the Island. Although those levies were nullified by the Supreme Court’s decision, based on a rule the justices deemed inappropriate for that purpose, Washington still had mechanisms to sanction countries that insisted on helping Havana. The situation has not only forced the Cuban regime to adopt radical savings measures affecting the daily lives of Cubans, but it is also suffocating the private small and medium-sized enterprises that were beginning to gain ground on the Island.
“I have suppliers who tell me: ‘I’m going to lose 100 containers of chicken because it’s at the port, there’s no fuel to go pick it up, and it’s going to spoil,’” lamented Cuban-American businessman Hugo Cancio a few days ago. Just last week, the consulting firm Auge released two reports highlighting the scale of the crisis. In one, it concluded that 78% of 63 companies surveyed reported declines in sales since Trump threatened tariffs on oil supplies. In the other, even more stark, more than 96% of private businesses “face an impact ranging from severe to catastrophic due to the fuel shortage.”
The Trump Administration decided on a shift in recent days, according to some sources, because the idea is to make clear to the regime its dependence on White House decisions and that a cooperative understanding would be beneficial for everyone.
The Trump Administration decided on a shift in recent days, according to some sources, because the idea is to make clear to the regime its dependence on White House decisions and that a cooperative understanding would be beneficial for everyone. Thus, Washington authorized last week the sale of crude to the private sector, although for the moment it is in small quantities. This LPG shipment will be the first Venezuelan cargo to reach the Island since December 8, when the Neptune 6, part of the “ghost fleet,” arrived in Matanzas from Jose with about 598,000 barrels of Merey 16 crude.
Later, the Jasper, flying the flag of Cameroon and carrying 330,000 barrels of Russian crude, arrived on December 23. The United States did not place any obstacles to the arrival in Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba of this vessel, despite it being sanctioned by the European Union. Now, the route of the Sea Horse, flying the Hong Kong flag and supposedly loaded with about 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel for Cuba, remains in question. Moscow denied the information last week, although the tanker continues a slow westward course in the Atlantic and was located this Sunday about 1,463 nautical miles from Cuba’s northern coast, moving at a minimal speed of 0.8 knots.
The United States currently has several vessels available to try to stop a tanker of this type, including the Vincent Danz, John Patterson, Spencer, Richard Dixon, Stone, SAR 26227, and SAR 20313. All of these are less than 36 hours away from Cuba.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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