US sanctions Cuban petroleum exploration and research firm, gas importers

The US State Department has issued a new round of sanctions on Cuba, targeting two gas importers and an entity engaged in petroleum exploration and research.

The Department of State sanctioned the Centro de Investigaciones del Petróleo S.A., which conducts petroleum exploration and future energy research and is an arm of the already sanctioned Cuban oil company Unión Cuba-Petróleo,

The sanctions also target Empresa de Energía S.A. and Einarbo S.A., both of which import gas, liquefied gas and lubricants.

The companies are being designated under Trump's Executive Order 14404, issued May 1, 2026, which authorized sweeping sanctions on Cuba.

"The Cuban Communist regime continues to exploit its people and serve as the leading sponsor of radical leftism and political violence in our hemisphere," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a July 23 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Anyone supporting, sponsoring, or providing services to these sanctioned actors is at risk of being sanctioned themselves," the post said.

Crude imports into Cuba have plummeted since the US military action in Venezuela, which had been a key supplier of crude to the island.

Cuba imported an average of 1.1 million barrels of crude per month in 2025, largely from Venezuela, Mexico and Russia, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data. In 2026, Cuba received only 700,000 barrels of crude from Russia, which arrived in March, CAS data shows.