MIAMI, FL – October 7, 2026 (STL.News) Federal authorities have intercepted 90 shipments containing more than 600,000 gallons of biodiesel that investigators say were being exported from the United States to a sanctioned Cuban fuel company, in an enforcement action spanning ports in Florida and Texas.
The shipments were valued at approximately $2.8 million and were stopped before leaving the United States, according to federal officials. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security participated in the operation.
Authorities said the fuel was destined for ENETEC S.A., a Havana-based fuel wholesaler that the U.S. Treasury Department placed on its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List in July.
The Treasury Department’s own sanctions records confirm that ENETEC was designated on July 13, 2026, under Executive Order 14404. Treasury identifies the company as a Havana entity established in December 2019 and involved in the wholesale trade of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels and related products.
The federal investigation remains open. Authorities had not publicly identified the exporters responsible for the shipments or announced charges against individuals or companies involved as of Wednesday.
Fuel stopped at ports in Florida and Texas
The enforcement operation involved shipments moving through Port Everglades in South Florida and the Port of Houston in Texas.
Federal officials said 71 shipments at Port Everglades contained approximately 496,000 gallons of biodiesel. Another 19 shipments at the Port of Houston contained approximately 119,000 gallons, according to reporting from South Florida following Wednesday’s federal announcement.
Because federal and news reports rounded the individual quantities differently, the most defensible combined figure is more than 600,000 gallons, as reported by Homeland Security and Reuters.
The government valued the fuel at approximately $2.8 million.
Federal authorities said intelligence indicated that fuel exported from the United States was being directed to a sanctioned Cuban entity. CBP subsequently identified shipments moving through the two American ports, according to Homeland Security information reported by CBS News.
The fuel was intercepted before it departed the United States.
ENETEC is at center of federal investigation
ENETEC’s sanctions status is critical to understanding why federal authorities intervened.
The company appears by name in Treasury’s official July 13 sanctions action.
Treasury identifies ENETEC S.A. as based in Havana and lists its organization type as the wholesale trade of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products. Its Cuban entity code is 60631.
Reuters reported that Homeland Security officials described ENETEC during Wednesday’s announcement as a state-owned fuel company. Other reporting from the federal news conference similarly described it as a state-controlled or state-run Cuban company.
That distinction is important because the federal action concerns the alleged destination of the shipments and compliance with U.S. sanctions and export controls.
The biodiesel itself is not an inherently illegal commodity.
Federal authorities allege that these particular exports were unlawful because the fuel was destined for a sanctioned Cuban entity and violated applicable U.S. restrictions.
Federal agencies allege export violations
Homeland Security Investigations said the interdictions occurred amid suspected violations of federal export laws, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and regulations governing exports under the Export Administration Regulations, CBS News reported, citing information supplied by the agency.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act is also directly relevant to the sanctions authority under which the U.S. Treasury designated ENETEC.
Treasury states that Executive Order 14404 was issued pursuant to IEEPA and created a Cuba-related sanctions program that operates alongside the longstanding Cuban Assets Control Regulations.
Treasury also makes clear that the older Cuba sanctions framework remains in effect, including its prohibitions, exemptions, and authorizations.
That means the legal issue is more specific than simply whether fuel was being sent to Cuba.
Certain transactions involving Cuba can be authorized, while transactions involving sanctioned entities can face additional restrictions.
Federal authorities say the 90 shipments announced Wednesday crossed that line because they were headed to ENETEC.
Officials say humanitarian shipments are different
Federal authorities also emphasized that Wednesday’s enforcement action was not intended to stop legitimate humanitarian assistance from reaching Cubans.
“Enforcement actions are not intended to interfere with legitimate humanitarian assistance that supports Cuban families, workers and communities,” HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa said during the announcement.
Figueroa said the actions instead concerned shipments suspected of benefiting Cuba’s government through a state-controlled entity.
That distinction has become increasingly important as the United States tightens pressure on Cuba’s energy sector.
WLRN reported that U.S. policy continues to permit certain fuel imports by Cuba’s private sector and humanitarian fuel exports while restricting shipments benefiting sanctioned government entities.
The sanctions framework therefore should not be characterized as making every U.S.-origin fuel shipment to Cuba illegal.
Wednesday’s case concerns fuel that federal investigators say was specifically intended for ENETEC.
Treasury sanctioned ENETEC in July
The action against ENETEC is part of a broader expansion of U.S. sanctions against Cuba’s energy sector during 2026.
On June 11, Treasury added Unión Cuba-Petróleo, or CUPET, to its sanctions list. Treasury described CUPET as Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company.
Treasury added ENETEC on July 13 in another round of Cuba-related designations.
Treasury’s July action added ENETEC and COREYDAN S.A., both identified as companies involved in wholesale fuel trading, along with several other Cuban entities.
The designation matters because property and interests in property of blocked persons that come within U.S. jurisdiction generally face restrictions, while U.S. persons generally face prohibitions on transactions involving blocked entities unless an exemption or authorization applies.
Wednesday’s interception shows how those sanctions can translate from financial restrictions into enforcement involving physical cargo moving through U.S. ports.
Authorities have not identified the exporters
Despite announcing the seizure, federal officials have left one major question unanswered: Who arranged the shipments?
The United States had not publicly disclosed the exporters’ identities as of Wednesday.
Reuters reported that the government has not revealed the exporters involved in this case. CBS News likewise reported that authorities had not immediately identified the exporters or said whether any individuals or companies had been charged.
That procedural distinction is important.
The government’s interception of cargo does not by itself establish that an individual or business knowingly committed a crime.
Investigators would need to establish the facts surrounding the transactions, including who arranged the shipments, who owned the fuel, what parties knew about the ultimate recipient, and whether any applicable authorization existed.
No criminal guilt should be inferred from the seizure itself.
If prosecutors eventually bring charges, defendants would be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
HSI calls operation deliberate and coordinated
Figueroa described the suspected sanctions-evasion activity as deliberate.
“An effort of this magnitude to undermine U.S. sanctions does not occur by accident,” he said during Wednesday’s announcement.
Figueroa said the enforcement actions concerned shipments suspected of benefiting the Cuban government through a state-controlled entity.
WLRN, citing the Miami announcement, reported that Figueroa described the alleged sanctions-evasion scheme as “deliberate and coordinated.”
The operation involved cooperation among agencies with different enforcement responsibilities.
HSI investigates transnational criminal activity and sanctions-evasion cases. CBP enforces U.S. laws at ports and monitors both inbound and outbound trade. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security administers and enforces U.S. export controls.
The involvement of all three reflects the intersection of customs enforcement, sanctions and export controls in the Cuba-bound shipments.
Cuba struggling with energy shortages
The seizures come as Cuba faces a severe energy crisis.
The island has experienced extensive electrical outages, fuel shortages, water disruptions and inflation. Reuters reported Wednesday that U.S. restrictions have added pressure to an already strained Cuban economy and energy system.
The consequences of the U.S. policy remain politically contested.
The Trump administration argues that its restrictions are intended to deny resources to Cuba’s government while allowing certain private-sector and humanitarian activity.
The Cuban government has sharply criticized U.S. economic pressure and describes Washington’s energy restrictions as economic warfare. Critics of U.S. policy have argued that tighter fuel restrictions compound hardships ordinary Cubans face.
Cuba’s government had not immediately commented on Wednesday’s seizure when Reuters published its report.
Latest action follows maritime fuel interdiction
Wednesday’s port operation also follows a separate Coast Guard enforcement action involving Cuba-bound fuel.
Reuters reported that the U.S. Coast Guard announced late last week that it had intercepted a large cargo vessel in September that authorities said was carrying fuel toward Cuba. The Coast Guard alleged the vessel attempted to evade authorities and carried fuel concealed in ballast tanks.
CBS News identified that vessel as the Grace, an approximately 300-foot cargo ship intercepted Sept. 5 between Cuba and Mexico. CBS also reported an earlier Coast Guard operation involving the Jaira Provider, which authorities said carried more than 200,000 gallons of fuel.
Those maritime cases are separate from Wednesday’s announcement involving shipments at Port Everglades and Houston.
They nevertheless demonstrate a broader increase in U.S. enforcement involving fuel headed to Cuba.
Investigation now turns to people behind shipments
For federal investigators, stopping the fuel is only part of the case.
The unresolved issue is identifying the parties responsible for arranging and financing the exports and determining whether their conduct violated federal law.
Authorities have established publicly that 90 shipments were intercepted, that the cargo contained more than 600,000 gallons of biodiesel, that it was worth approximately $2.8 million, and that the shipments were stopped at Port Everglades and the Port of Houston before leaving the United States.
They have also identified ENETEC as the intended recipient.
Treasury records independently establish that ENETEC has been on the U.S. sanctions list since July 13.
Federal authorities have not publicly identified the exporters or said whether anyone involved will face criminal charges.
That investigation remains open.
The enforcement action nevertheless represents a significant application of the United States’ expanding Cuba sanctions regime: instead of merely blocking financial transactions involving a designated company, federal agencies prevented hundreds of thousands of gallons of physical fuel from leaving American ports.
For now, the most precise description of the case is that U.S. authorities intercepted 90 shipments worth approximately $2.8 million containing more than 600,000 gallons of biodiesel that investigators say were destined for sanctioned Cuban fuel wholesaler ENETEC S.A.
The exporters have not been publicly identified, and no criminal charges connected to the 90 shipments had been announced as of October 7.
Editor’s note: The investigation remains ongoing. A seizure, detention, or federal investigation does not establish criminal guilt. Any person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
