The United States has allowed a Russian oil tanker, loaded with crude oil, to head towards after months of a tight blockade that has plunged the island into an energy crisis. The authorization of Donald Trump’s Government represents, in fact, a relaxation of the oil isolation that Washington has imposed on Havana, according to the newspaper. The New York Times this Sunday.
The ship entered Cuba’s exclusive economic zone a few hours ago, according to maritime traffic monitoring records.
The United States Coast Guard has allowed the Russian ship Anatoly Kolodkin to disembark in Cuba with more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil, according to the information. The tanker, which set sail from the Russian port of Primorsk, is located a few kilometers from the island and is expected to enter Cuban waters this Sunday, to make landfall on Tuesday and dock in the port of Matanzas the same day.
The arrival of the ship will be a significant relief for the country in the face of the fuel shortage that Cuba has been suffering for months, with continuous electrical blackouts and fuel rationing. The energy crisis has caused serious problems in hospitals and has limited mobility on the island. The country is on the verge of economic collapse and plunged into a humanitarian crisis due to the shortage of all types of products.
The arrival of 700,000 barrels of crude oil to the country will mean significant relief for the island that is suffering from Washington’s blockade. This amount of oil is expected to power the island’s power plants for at least a week.
The Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has assured that the country has gone three months without receiving oil imports. The Trump Administration has maintained a blockade on all oil shipments to Cuba, as part of its policy of pressure on Havana, which intensified after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela last January.
The United States’ energy isolation of Cuba has led to gasoline rationing and exacerbated an energy crisis that has resulted in multiple power outages throughout the Caribbean island nation.
The news published by the Times He cites a US official as a source and specifies that, at the moment, it is not clear for what reasons Washington authorized the passage of the shipment. Russia had announced a few weeks ago that it was studying sending crude oil to Cuba for humanitarian reasons, despite the fact that the decision implied a challenge to Washington.
Cuban authorities have taken some steps to collaborate with the United States, such as allowing fuel to arrive at the American embassy, after having threatened to isolate the facility due to the almost total blockade imposed by Washington.
Cuba has suffered blackouts for years, but these have worsened in recent weeks after the block imposed by the tenant of the White House. Last Friday he assured from Miami that, after the fall of Venezuela and the attack on Iran, “Cuba will be next.”
Meanwhile, Washington has temporarily lifted sanctions against Russia to improve the flow of crude oil and avoid an energy crisis due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The US authorities have opened their hand so that Moscow can market all the crude oil it already has loaded on ships.
In any case, the Trump Administration’s interest in regime change in Cuba is evident. The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, assured last Friday that the White House wants new leaders in Cuba. “The Cuban economy needs to change, and its economy cannot change unless its government system changes,” he indicated.
