The U.S. government continues to defend its own national security and foreign policy interests while standing in solidarity with the Cuban people. In this effort, the U.S. Department of State is sanctioning Cuba’s State-Owned Oil and Gas company Unión Cuba-Petróleo. The Cuban regime has weaponized the resources of the energy company as “a tool of both repression and self-serving regime kleptocracy,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.
“While the Cuban people have suffered fuel shortages and blackouts because of decades of under-investment in critical infrastructure, Cuba’s Communist leaders have diverted energy resources to line their own pockets,” wrote Secretary Rubio.
He noted that the regime resells countless barrels of scarce energy on the secondary market, hoards energy supplies for its military, intelligence and repressive forces, and rations energy as a tool of social control. The sanctions will freeze Union Cuba-Petroleo (CUPET) assets in the United States and restrict U.S. businesses from dealings with the company, making it harder for the regime to make money from stealing energy from its people.
“As regular Cubans wait for weeks to fill their cars and suffer relentless blackouts, the Castro family flies around on a private jet, the government buses in fake protesters for publicity stunts, and the regime prioritizes keeping the power on in luxury tourist hotels.”
The statement noted that key assets of the company were expropriated from American owners, referring to the nationalization of Cuba’s refineries after the Cuban revolution.
The action is pursuant to a May 1, 2026 executive order that calls for sanctions on those responsible for repression in Cuba and for threats to U.S. national security. The order states that the policies of the Cuban regime constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States.
President Donald J. Trump notes in a previous executive order that the Cuban regime aligns itself with hostile nations and invites them to “base sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities in Cuba that directly threaten the national security of the United States.” The elites of Cuba “welcome transnational terrorist groups,” and provide “defense, intelligence, and security assistance,” to adversaries.
“Contrary to the interests and foreign policy of the United States, the Cuban Communist regime supports terrorism and destabilizes the region through migration and violence,” the order states. “The communist regime persecutes and tortures its political opponents; denies the Cuban people free speech and press; corruptly profits from their misery; and commits other human-rights violations.”
“America will not tolerate a rogue state harboring hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations just ninety miles from the American homeland,” said President Trump in a statement. “We will not rest until the people of Cuba once again have the freedom their forefathers fought so valiantly to establish over 100 years ago.”
“The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior,” Secretary Rubio wrote. “The Trump Administration will continue to target Cuba’s ability to leverage energy trade to further its corrupt agenda and repressive security apparatus.”