The US Coast Guard intercepted the 300-foot (91-meter) cargo ship Grace in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico on September 5 while it was carrying fuel bound for Cuba. The vessel was allegedly using tactics associated with the dark fleet to evade authorities. A Coast Guard team boarded Grace and escorted it to Mexico, where Mexican navy inspectors confirmed large quantities of fuel in its ballast tanks; several containers were also believed to contain illicit fuel. Authorities did not disclose how they determined the cargo was headed to Cuba or how much fuel the ship carried. The interception came as the Trump administration’s oil blockade continued to intensify pressure on Cuba, where fuel shortages, failing infrastructure and blackouts have worsened. Shipments from Venezuela and Mexico, Cuba’s traditional suppliers, ended abruptly after the US ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January. The administration has said changing Cuba’s government is its goal, while US Coast Guard cutters patrol waters near the island and sanctions and threats have discouraged tankers from sailing.