The Trump administration has maintained maximum pressure on Cuba’s energy sector through Executive Order 14404 and related regulations implemented in September 2026, which expanded secondary sanctions, designated CUPET, and authorized tariffs on third-country oil suppliers after Venezuelan shipments ended earlier in the year. US policy permits limited fuel sales only to Cuba’s private sector while blocking state entities, with recent case-by-case humanitarian exceptions such as one Russian tanker delivery explicitly described by the White House as non-precedent-setting. Cuba’s new hydrocarbons law effective October 19 aims to attract foreign investment but does not alter US embargo rules or trigger sanction relief. Trader consensus reflects these structural barriers and the absence of any formal easing announcement.