The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury published this Wednesday, February 25 Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) number 1238which formalizes and gives regulatory support to what OnCuba advanced this Tuesday based on information from Bloomberg: The Trump Administration is preparing guidelines to clarify that energy companies can sell oil and fuel to the Cuban private sector without the need for a specific license.
FAQ 1238 specifically announces a favorable licensing policy for applications seeking authorization for the resale of oil of Venezuelan origin destined for Cuba, framed—according to the official text—in the “support and solidarity of the United States with the Cuban people.”
The Venezuelan context: the missing piece
The measure has as its immediate background one of the most significant geopolitical changes in recent months in the hemisphere: the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States on January 3, 2026 and the subsequent reforms to the Venezuela Hydrocarbon Lawaimed at opening the oil sector to private and foreign investment.
In this new scenario, the Trump Administration issued the General License (GL) 46A of Venezuelawhich authorizes US companies to re-enter the Venezuelan energy market and market their oil in broad terms: purchase, sale, resale, transportation, storage, vessel chartering, marine insurance and port services.
However, GL 46A expressly excluded transactions involving persons or entities located in Cuba, leaving any resale operation of that oil destined for the island without legal coverage. FAQ 1238 comes to correct that mistake.
To qualify under the new policy, transactions must be consistent with the terms and conditions of Venezuela’s GL 46A, although with two important differences: applicants are not required to have an entity established in the United States, and the limitations that GL 46A imposes with respect to Cuba would not apply in these cases.
Political logic: people yes, state no
The measure responds to the same logic that Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed on February 15 when pointing out that an economic opening in Cuba could be “a possible way forward.”
Washington draws a distinction between the Cuban people—which it says it wants to support—and the institutions of the State and the Armed Forces, which it keeps under maximum pressure.
Thus, FAQ 1238 is explicit: transactions that involve or benefit individuals or entities associated with the Cuban military, intelligence services or other government institutions will not be covered by this favorable policy. This includes all entities listed in the State Department Cuba Restricted Listestablished in 31 CFR § 515.209.
A legal clarification for the industry
The OFAC FAQ also delineates the regulatory powers of the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce. The latter regulates exports of oil of US origin to Cuba. In this framework, exports of crude oil and derivatives covered by the License Exception to Support the Cuban People (SCP, 15 CFR § 740.21) —which authorizes exports to improve living conditions and support independent economic activity—do not require additional authorizations from OFAC.
That clarification responds directly to the concern that Bloomberg had identified in the energy industry: the uncertainty about which transactions with Cuba are legal. Faced with this doubt, Washington has chosen—as OnCuba pointed out yesterday—by the path of regulatory clarification rather than generalized relief of sanctions.
Humanitarian crisis as a backdrop
The measure comes at a time when fuel shortages in Cuba have reached critical levels, with blackouts lasting more than 20 hours a day in several areas of the country.
Since Maduro’s capture and Washington’s pressure on Mexico to suspend its supplies, Cuba has been deprived of its two largest sources of imported oil.
UN experts and rapporteurs have warned that the shortage is critically increasing precariousness in hospitals, the distribution of drinking water and food, and puts schools, maternity hospitals and nursing homes at special risk.
The new OFAC policy could open a concrete way for fuel to reach Cuba through the private sector, although its real impact will depend on how many companies are willing to operate in that space and the ability of the Cuban private sector to access it.
Until just a few weeks ago, almost all the fuel that entered the island was purchased by the State; only recently The Cuban Government authorized the import of fuel by MSMEs for their own use, although it prohibited their remarketing.
OFAC refers to FAQ 1226 for the definition of “petroleum of Venezuelan origin”—which includes derived products—and advises exporters and re-exporters that they are responsible for reviewing current Department of Commerce guidelines to ensure compliance with all applicable terms.
