The U.S. Coast Guard announced it intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel destined for Cuba, as the Trump administration’s oil embargo against the island continues.
The vessel, named Grace, was stopped on 5 September in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico. The ship, 91 metres (300 ft) long, was reportedly using tactics to evade authorities, a method common among the dark fleet.
A Coast Guard boarding party boarded the ship and escorted it to Mexico. A Mexican navy inspection team confirmed large quantities of fuel in the vessel’s ballast tanks and identified several containers believed to contain illicit fuel.
The Trump administration has openly stated its goal is to change Cuba’s government. The U.S.-imposed oil blockade, implemented earlier this year, has put the country under severe strain, as it faces fuel shortages and blackouts worsened by failing infrastructure.
Admiral Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, said, ‘The high seas are not a sanctuary for lawlessness. Dark fleet actors who employ deceptive tactics to engage in illicit activities will not evade justice.’ The statement noted that oil shipments from Venezuela and Mexico ended abruptly after the U.S. ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January, and that Coast Guard cutters patrol waters off Cuba while sanctions and threats have deterred tankers from setting sail.
The statement did not disclose how authorities determined the fuel was headed to Cuba or the amount carried.
