Venezuelan congress prohibits the export of oil to Cuba.
Although the Venezuelan opposition and interim president Juan Guaidó does not have control of PDVSA, the congress lead by him decreed a general prohibition of all oil exports to Cuba on Tuesday 12th.
Following the massive blackout that affected the entire Venezuelan territory from March 7th until early this week and the political crisis still in place in the country, the disputed interim president and president of the congress Juan Guaidó decreed a general prohibition of all oil exports to Cuba on Tuesday 12th.
This political move, which may not be enforce locally since the government still holds total control of PDVSA, received the endorsement of the US government. John Bolton (white house national security advisor) declared that all companies which helps the delivery of oil to Cuba from Venezuela, including ship-owners, charterers and insurers are on notice about the consequences that such help would carry to them. This declarations are aggravated due the sanctions imposed against PDVSA (according to EO 13850 February 2019, EO 13808 – august 2017, EO 13827 – February 2018, EO 13835 – May 2018 and EO NXX – November 2018), and the possibility of such sanctions falling into non-US persons and US persons. As per the EOs, above mentioned such help could contribute to the deterioration of the situation in Venezuela and therefore make those companies subject to sanctions.
Under these circumstances, local experts have considered that insurers may validly claim that contracts and covers will be terminate if the owners and charterers decides to proceed with any oil delivery voyages to Cuba, since such commercial activity may be taken as “uninsurable illicit interests”.
This international political pressure has also led the biggest commercial partner that PDVSA has in INDIA Reliance Industries to put the relationship they have with PDVSA, including the import of oil and the export of diluents, in hold until the sanctions are release by the US government.
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