President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested the United States would allow Russian-flagged oil tankers to enter Cuba, a move that would break the regime’s fuel blockade as the country faces a worsening energy crisis.
In recent months, Washington has ratcheted up pressure on the communist-run island, claiming Havana is an “extraordinary threat,” cutting supplies from Venezuela, a major oil supplier, and threatening other suppliers with additional tariffs.
An effective oil blockade has resulted in power outages and mountains of garbage in the capital, and hospitals are struggling to admit patients and keep operating rooms open due to a lack of energy.
Jorge Piñon of the University of Texas Energy Institute told CNN that the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying about 730,000 barrels of oil, has been spotted off the coast of Cuba and could arrive within days. As of Sunday evening, the tanker was located in waters off the coast of Cuba’s Holguin province, according to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic. It was indicated that the ship could enter the port of Matanzas, an oil logistics hub, as early as Tuesday.
President Trump confirmed on Sunday aboard Air Force One that the tanker was heading to the Caribbean country.
Asked about the ship, he told reporters: “We have tankers. I don’t mind if someone loads them on board, because they have to survive.”
“If a country wants to send oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with it. I prefer Russia or anywhere else to send oil to Cuba, because the people need heating, cooling and everything else they need,” the president added.
Cuba cut off oil supplies from Venezuela, its main supplier, after the United States detained President Nicolas Maduro in January. Shipments from other countries, including Mexico, were then halted after the Trump administration threatened to impose additional tariffs on countries that directly or indirectly supply the oil.
Fuel shortages have increased the frequency and duration of power outages in Cuba, leading to severe gas shortages, soaring prices and aging infrastructure. In just the past month, the island has suffered several complete power grid collapses, plunging Havana and other cities into darkness.
The oil shortage has also affected public services and food transport, leading to rare protests in some cities, with citizens banging pots and pans and lighting bonfires in the dark.
The Kremlin last week did not mention fuel tankers headed for Cuba, but said it was in contact with the Cuban government to discuss possible aid to the island.
President Trump on Sunday rejected suggestions that allowing tankers to sail would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We lost a ship’s worth of oil, that’s all,” Trump said. “If he wants to do it, if other countries want to do it, I don’t really care.”
