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Investigation documents fuel imported from the U.S. reaching CIMEX through mipymes
Internal documents from CIMEX's commercial management identify 21 fuel suppliers, at least 16 of them Cuban mipymes, according to an investigation by ADN Cuba and Martí Noticias published on Friday.
The investigation reconstructs one operation from an invoice of almost 53,000 dollars: on September 21, CIMEX-Mariel billed more than 23,000 liters of gasoline to one of its own Oro Negro service stations and, in the order reference, the initials KRV appeared, for the Havana mipyme KRV Partes y Piezas, along with the number of isotank PCVU2666813.
On October 3 that same isotank returned empty from the port of Mariel to Miami aboard the ship Seaboard Ranger, declared as carrying gasoline residue, according to shipping manifests. A source familiar with the operation at Mariel confirmed to ADN Cuba that KRV supplied the fuel to CIMEX-Mariel; a second source placed a sale by another Havana mipyme, Magenta Logística SURL, in July.
The internal documents bring together dozens of circulars issued between May and September 2026 and identify 21 fuel suppliers, among them at least 16 mipymes, Cuba's small and medium-sized private businesses. The list also includes the state-run CUPET, ITH (the Tourism Ministry's importer), Richmeat de Cuba (a subsidiary of Mexico's Richmeat), a company identified as Talleres Castro and a reference to «Importadora/Cubamax», pointing to a firm based in Florida.
The circulars record purchase, wholesale and retail prices. For private suppliers, CIMEX set spreads of between 17 and 30 cents per liter, close to 10%: KRV's B-90 gasoline appears in September at 2.20 dollars per liter on purchase, 2.30 wholesale and 2.40 retail.
CIMEX is a corporation of the GAESA military conglomerate, under U.S. sanctions since 2004. The U.S. Support for the Cuban People exception allows fuel to be exported without an individual license for use by Cuba's private sector, but guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security published in February 2026 excludes transactions that «primarily generate revenue for the State or contribute to its functioning», and recalls that it is up to exporters to ensure compliance.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on February 25 that the licenses would be canceled if it emerged that the private sector was diverting the fuel «to the regime or to the military enterprise». The investigation reports no official U.S. determination about these operations. Cubamax, its president, Carlos Trujillo, and the freight agent Tech Cargo did not respond to requests for comment.
Sources: Martí Noticias · Periódico Cubano · Cubanet
Data updated: 2026-10-23T16:15:00.000Z