Biodiesel worth $2.8M headed to Cuba seized by DHS

In Florida, EFE news agency reports authorities on Wednesday seized more than 600,000 gallons (2.2 million liters) of biodiesel that were going to Cuba, valued at around $2.8 million, which violates the sanctions imposed by Washington.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies announced at a news conference that they confiscated 90 cargoes of fuel, 71 of them from Port Everglades, Florida, and 19 from Port Houston, Texas, which were headed to Enetec, a Cuban company sanctioned by the United States.

The confiscation occurs while Cuba suffers its biggest economic crisis in recent decades, with a shortage of basic products, coupled with an energy shortage due to lack of fuels and breakdowns in its obsolete power plants that cause daily blackouts.

The situation has worsened since January due to the impact of the oil siege applied by US President Donald Trump and the new sanctions against sectors of the Cuban economy and companies that maintain business with the Government of Havana. 

The agent for now did not identify the exporters involved in the operation, which began with the arrest of the shipments in September, with the cooperation of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Commerce Department’s Office of Industry and Security (BIS).

Tags: biodiesel, DHS, Florida

Category: Fuels