Cuban oil tankers becoming regular visitors to Mexican ports

FILE PHOTO: Cuban tanker Petion is seen at a shipyard in Veracruz, Mexico April 9, 2021. Picture taken April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Yahir Ceballos/File Photo

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Cuba has begun using its own tankers to ramp up crude imports from Mexico, which in the second quarter surpassed Russia as a key oil provider to the fuel-thirsty island, according to vessel monitoring data.

Following days-long lines to fill drivers' tanks and power blackouts, the communist-run nation saddled with harsh U.S. economic sanctions has broadened its sources of oil imports in a move to ease fuel scarcity, replenish stocks and reduce dependence on its traditional and largest supplier, Venezuela. Washington has also sanctioned Venezuela's oil industry since 2019 over election-fraud claims.