NEW YORK, February 25. /TASS/. Against the backdrop of Cuba’s energy crisis, the United States plans to boost fuel exports to the island on the condition that the supplies go to the country’s private sector, the Miami Herald reported, citing sources.
"We want to increase the flow of fuel from the United States to Cuba provided that the final beneficiary is the private sector," one of the newspaper’s sources said.
According to the report, US authorities are expected to issue new export rules soon, lifting current limits on the volume of oil supplies. At present, Cuban business owners can purchase small amounts of fuel in the United States and ship it to the island. Lawyers say such measures do not violate the US embargo on fuel deliveries to Cuba if the supplier holds a license from the US Treasury Department authorizing sales to Cuban private entities, though only a small number of American companies currently have such permits. Sources cited by the newspaper believe that Cuban authorities will not obstruct fuel deliveries to the private sector.
On January 29, an executive order was signed in the United States allowing Washington to impose tariffs on goods from countries supplying oil to Cuba. The US has maintained an embargo on fuel deliveries to the island, where fuel is already in short supply due to a deep shortage caused by disrupted imports from Venezuela and Mexico under US pressure. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla strongly condemned these measures, saying they threaten the island with a "total blockade of fuel supplies," violate international trade principles, and create "extreme conditions" for the Cuban people.
The Russian embassy in Havana said that Moscow will soon begin supplying oil and petroleum products as humanitarian aid.