The U.S. Coast Guard has intensified patrols in the Caribbean, intercepting oil tankers bound for Cuba and effectively imposing an undeclared blockade on the island's vital fuel imports.

On February 13, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter confronted the chemical tanker Ocean Mariner in the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti. The vessel, which had departed Colombia on February 5 carrying fuel, abruptly altered course after the encounter, sailing south toward the Dominican Republic without delivering its cargo to Havana. No boarding occurred, but the positioning of the cutter mirrored previous standoffs, prompting the tanker to turn away.

This incident follows a pattern of U.S. actions that have choked Cuba's oil supply since early 2026. An analysis of ship-tracking data revealed that another tanker loaded with Colombian fuel oil approached within 70 miles of Cuba before a Coast Guard interception forced it to divert. Cuban-flagged tankers have remained docked for months, unable to secure fuel abroad, while allies like Venezuela halted shipments after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 5 and assumed control of the country's oil industry.

President Trump signed an executive order on January 29 threatening tariffs on nations selling oil to Cuba, citing the island's policies as a threat to U.S. security. The administration has avoided labeling the measures a formal blockade but pledged to halt all oil flows to Havana. Neither the Coast Guard nor the Department of Homeland Security has issued public statements confirming the interceptions.

Cuba now faces its most severe fuel crisis since the 1990s, with reserves potentially lasting only 20 days as of mid-February. Prolonged blackouts have crippled daily life, transportation, and industry, pushing the economy toward collapse. The measures mark the first effective U.S. naval isolation of Cuba since the 1962 Missile Crisis.

Tensions escalated further on February 25 when Cuba's Coast Guard killed four people and injured six aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that entered its territorial waters. Havana described the occupants, Cuban exiles from the U.S., as armed infiltrators planning an uprising, while the U.S. launched an investigation through Homeland Security and the Coast Guard.

Caribbean leaders at a recent Caricom summit urged de-escalation and dialogue amid the oil embargo. In a potential softening, the U.S. Treasury recently licensed limited resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba for humanitarian purposes, excluding entities tied to Havana's government or military.

The U.S. maintains the largest military presence in the Caribbean in decades to enforce sanctions, amid Cuba's historical reliance on subsidized Venezuelan oil for up to half its needs.