By Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga

(Reuters) – Venezuela has ramped up shipments of gasoline and meals to Cuba since November, offering key provides to one in all President Nicolas Maduro’s closest allies, based on paperwork from Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon tanker monitoring knowledge.

From late November via early January, PDVSA shipped a minimum of three cargoes carrying about 197,000 barrels of gasoline, together with different refined merchandise to Cuba’s Nuevitas, Matanzas and Havana ports, the paperwork and knowledge confirmed.

The cargoes arrived on the Caribbean nation’s ports aboard the Cuban-flagged tankers Maria Cristina and Alicia.

PDVSA, Venezuela’s oil ministry and Cuba’s international ministry didn’t reply to requests for remark.

Venezuela had minimized gasoline exports to Cuba since early 2020 as its home manufacturing dwindled because of the poor situation of PDVSA’s refineries. Gas shortages within the OPEC nation have left lengthy traces of shoppers ready for gasoline and diesel at stations.

Each Venezuela and Cuba are underneath U.S. sanctions, together with on oil provide and delivery between the nations, for what Washington says are their repressive insurance policies. The left-leaning governments in Caracas and Havana blame the sanctions for worsening humanitarian situations of their nations and accuse america of attempting to topple them.

The shipments got here as gasoline manufacturing rebounded in Venezuela. The South American nation from mid-2020 to mid-2021 had been pressured to show to Iran for imported gasoline to enrich its home output.

However, thanks partly to provides of refinery components from Iran that allowed PDVSA to undertake long-delayed upkeep work and repairs, Venezuela has elevated its output of gasoline blendstock and elements to nearly 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) this 12 months, based on sources.

Venezuela’s total oil provide to Cuba final 12 months fell to 56,300 bpd of crude and refined merchandise and a few 73,000 metric tonnes of petroleum coke, from 76,600 bpd and 100,000 metric tonnes respectively the earlier 12 months, based on an evaluation of PDVSA’s export experiences and tanker monitoring knowledge.

Since December, Venezuela additionally has exported 222 containers and lots of of baggage of meals on ships Icoa Uru and Melba, which discharged at Cuba’s Mariel and Santiago ports, the paperwork and knowledge confirmed.

The current cargoes adopted humanitarian deliveries of meals and medical gear by Venezuela and Mexico, which had been confirmed in August by Cuban authorities. Russia and China additionally offered help to the island final 12 months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Venezuela’s opposition has lengthy criticized the federal government’s resolution to provide gas to Cuba amid widespread shortages at residence. The shortage of sufficient output in 2018 led PDVSA to purchase almost $440 million value of international oil and ship it to Cuba on pleasant credit score phrases, and sometimes at a loss, a Reuters investigation discovered https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-imports-exclusive/exclusive-as-venezuelans-suffer-maduro-buys-foreign-oil-to-subsidize-cuba-idUSKCN1IG1TO.

Cuba, quick on gas and meals provides for many years, was in notably dire straits final 12 months, because the pandemic struck the island nation mid-year, alongside widespread protests and shortages of power and primary provides.

Maduro, who has visited Cuba twice in current months, has mentioned U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and any makes an attempt to dam its commerce with nations together with Cuba are unlawful.

Venezuelan diesel provision to Cuba was among the many arguments utilized by america to droop in 2020 the authorizations it had prolonged for oil-for-fuel swaps, permitting PDVSA to allocate crude exports whereas importing diesel.

The U.S. Division of Treasury, answerable for sanction enforcement, declined to remark.