US President Donald Trump signaled on Sunday that he was changing his stance on blocking oil shipments to Cuba, saying he had “no problem” with any country sending crude oil, as a Russian tanker approached a Cuban port with a shipment.
A Russian oil tanker was close to the east coast of Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to arrive at port this Monday (30), representing a breather for the country’s economy, which practically stopped due to a de facto imposed by Washington.
The United States halted Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba following the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, and Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on any other country that sent crude oil to Cuba. Mexico, Cuba’s biggest supplier along with Venezuela, also suspended its shipments.
As a result, Cuba has not received a tanker for three months, according to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, aggravating what has led to strict gasoline rationing and a series of blackouts across the country of 10 million inhabitants. Cuban health officials say the crisis has increased the risk of mortality among cancer patients in Cuba, especially children.
Speaking to the press aboard Air Force One, Trump expressed solidarity with the Cuban people’s need for energy and said he was not concerned about any aid the country might provide to the communist government in Havana, as he predicted it would soon fall on its own.
“If a country wants to send oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not,” Trump said.
“Cuba is finished. They have a bad regime. They have a very bad, corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a ship loaded with oil isn’t going to make a difference,” Trump said. “I’d rather let it in, whether it’s from Russia or any other country, because people need heating, cooling and all the other necessary things.”
At the same time as he expressed concern about Cubans, Trump issued a series of anti-Cuban government statements and said he would pay more attention to the country, located 150 km from the US coast, after dealing with Iran.
Oil cargo could sustain Cuba for a month
In early March, the US temporarily eased sanctions against Russia to help improve the global flow of oil, which had been restricted by the US-Israeli war with Iran. However, this move also created exceptions that explicitly prohibited transactions involving Cuba and other locations such as Iran, North Korea and Crimea.
The Anatoly Kolodkin ship departed the port of Primorsk, Russia, carrying around 650,000 barrels of crude oil, according to LSEG ship monitoring data. Other reports indicate that the vessel was carrying 730,000 barrels.
The official Cuban news portal classified the Russian shipment as a direct challenge to the US oil blockade, after the Russian navy escorted the sanctioned vessel through the English Channel on its way to the Caribbean.
