• The pace is now quickening for the Cuban oil industry, whose previous dependence on Moscow for its supplies and operations ended with the demise of the Soviet Union
• Havana is on track for securing energy independence through relationships with foreign investors, including China and Venezuela, among others
• Venezuela proudly flaunts its involvement in the Cuban oil industry, despite the failed efforts of other foreign investors to produce commercially ranked results
• The Cuban oil and ethanol industries have the potential to transform the island into a major player in global energy, which would guarantee its ability to successfully bypass the U.S. embargo

Hurdling over the barriers erected by Washington policymakers, Cuba, with increasing gusto, is turning to its oil and ethanol sectors to achieve energy security, despite the U.S. embargo. Cuba has slowly made progress through the operations of both state-owned and foreign enterprises, by means of new oil explorations and a stepped-up search for new energy alternatives, such as ethanol.