Reuters

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday that it will authorize companies that apply for licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba, according to guidance published on the department's website, a move that could help alleviate the island's severe fuel shortage. The United States took control of Venezuela's oil exports in early January after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and since then the supply of that crude to Cuba has stopped, aggravating the energy crisis that the island is already suffering. For more than 25 years, Venezuela had been the main supplier of crude oil and fuel for its political ally Cuba through a bilateral pact. Mexico, which had become an alternative supplier, has also stopped oil shipments to Cuba since a shipment arrived in Havana in January, according to ship tracking data. The new favorable licensing policy comes as major trading houses such as Vitol and Trafigura manage most of Venezuela's exports, with millions of barrels sent to the US, Europe, and India, and others stored in Caribbean terminals for resale. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that Venezuela's allies receiving its oil in exchange deals, debt payments, and other forms will now have to pay fair market prices for the shipments. This includes China and Cuba, Reuters said. The Treasury's guidance also makes it clear that proposed transactions must “support the Cuban people, including the private sector,” allowing exports for commercial and humanitarian use in Cuba, while transactions involving or benefiting the Cuban military or other government institutions would not be covered by this favorable policy. The Treasury Department noted that license applicants do not necessarily need to have an entity established in the U.S., and that limitations in a license granted in January to export Venezuelan oil would not apply in the case of Cuba.