The United States announced two fuel interdictions aimed at Cuba in the span of a week. One was a tanker intercepted in the Caribbean, and the other was a batch of 90 shipments held at U.S. ports. The seizures come as Washington and Havana give sharply different accounts of whether they are negotiating, and as the island’s energy crisis enters its tenth month.

Seizures

On October 2, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it had boarded the M/V Grace, a roughly 300-foot tanker, in the Caribbean on September 5. A Mexican Navy inspection team found large quantities of fuel in the ship’s ballast tanks, along with containers believed to hold more fuel.

The vessel was escorted to Progreso, Mexico.

U.S. officials said it used covert “dark fleet” tactics to evade detection. It was the second major interdiction of the summer, after the Coast Guard detained the Jaira Provider on June 28 with more than 200,000 gallons of fuel in its ballast tanks.

“The high seas are not a sanctuary for lawlessness,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said.