A Russian tanker with 730,000 barrels of oil is on its way to Cuba, the communist-run island crippled by a U.S. economic blockade. The Anatoly Kolodkin tanker is expected to reach Cuba’s Matanza oil terminal on Monday, according to news reports.
The Russian vessel had been among those sanctioned by the U.S. in retaliation for that country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian oil exports a week ago to help steady world oil markets that turned volatile after the Israel- and U.S.-led attacks on Iran, and Iran’s strikes against oil refineries around the Persian Gulf and the near-shutdown of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The arrival of oil in Cuba will be an energy lifeline for Cuba, which is struggling with nationwide blackouts and gasoline shortages. The country, which has no domestic oil production, has not received an oil shipment since a Mexican tanker left port on January 9.
Another tanker, the Hong Kong-flagged SeaHorse, appears to be headed to Cuba with an additional 200,000 barrels of Russian oil. The Seahorse could arrive late next week.
Under normal circumstances, Cuba consumes around 20,000 barrels of oil per day.
The U.S. has intensified pressure on Cuba after arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
On Monday, Trump predicted that the energy crisis in Cuba meant he would soon have “the honor of taking Cuba,” and that the White House has told Cuba to remove its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel from office. “Whether I free it, take it … I think I could do anything I want with it,” Trump said of Cuba.
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