Vanguard Energy to Ship 250,000 Barrels of Fuel to Cuba, Largest U.S. Cargo in Decades

Vanguard Energy, a Florida‑based energy trader, is in advanced negotiations to deliver about 250,000 barrels of diesel and gasoline to Cuba. The shipment would be the largest U.S. fuel cargo to the island since 1960 and could cover roughly 11 days of Cuba’s usual fuel demand. Under a February 2026 policy change, the United States now permits limited fuel exports to Cuba’s private sector, while sales to the Cuban government remain prohibited. Vanguard has secured storage tanks on the island and plans to use a vessel capable of holding the full volume, with earlier, smaller deliveries this year totaling only about 30,000 barrels. The move is framed as a step toward privatizing Cuba’s fuel market, allowing private stations to buy U.S. fuel under U.S. legal oversight and traceability. Cuba’s energy crisis, marked by widespread blackouts and dwindling supplies from traditional partners such as Venezuela and Russia, has heightened the urgency of the deal. If completed, the cargo could accelerate interest from larger U.S. energy firms in the Cuban market.