U.S. says Cuba can’t take Russian oil as two tankers head to island
An old Soviet-era Lada car passes a truck belonging to a private Cuban company (mipyme) parked in front of a gas station filled with IsoTank imported fuel on March 19, 2026 in Havana.
Adalberto Roque | Afp | Getty Images
The US Treasury Department said Cuba will not be allowed to buy Russian crude even as the fuel-strapped island appears ready to receive two tankers carrying oil and gas.
One general license In a report published on Thursday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Undersecretariat of Treasury added Cuba to the list of countries where transactions involving the sale, delivery or unloading of crude oil or petroleum products originating from Russia will be blocked.
The United States had temporarily allowed the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea last week as part of an effort to stabilize energy markets during the US- and Israeli-led war against Iran. The short-term measure suspended sanctions against Moscow for the first time following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The update comes as maritime intelligence providers track two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas heading towards Cuba.
Beset by power outages and a worsening economic crisis under a US oil blockade, the communist-run Caribbean island now faces its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union. US President Donald Trump said earlier in the week that he thought he would somehow have the “honor” of taking Havana.
Russia, an ally of Cuba for decades, has harshly criticized the Trump administration’s fuel embargo. committed to to provide the country with “necessary support, including financial assistance”.
The tanker Sea Horse is one of the ships heading to Cuba, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward. Hong Kong flag ship estimated It is carrying approximately 190,000 barrels of Russian gasoline and tracking shows that the cargo may be planned to be delivered in the coming days.
An analysis published by Windward on Wednesday found the tanker was involved in deceptive shipping practices, including shutting down location transponders (or AIS “spoofing”) while transferring oil, and lacked Western insurance, which Windward said indicated potential sanctions circumvention.
A second Russian-flagged oil tanker, the sanctioned Anatoly Kolodkin, is also thought to be headed for Cuba, carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil, marine analytics firm Kpler said on Wednesday. AFP. CNBC has contacted Kpler and is awaiting a response.
The shipments represent a challenge to the United States, given that Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil. The Kremlin has previously shrugged off Trump’s tariff threats, stating that Washington and Moscow “don’t have a lot of trade right now.”
It arrives in Havana port on July 27, 2024, as part of the fleet consisting of the Russian patrol ship Neustrahimiy, training ship Smolniy and offshore oil tanker Yelnya. The Russian fleet will remain on the island from 27 to 30 July.
Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images
Cuba was heavily dependent on oil from Venezuela, but it has been effectively cut off since early January, when the United States launched an extraordinary military operation to depose Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration has called the Cuban government an “unusual and extraordinary threat” and suggested that the United States may turn its attention to Cuba after the Iran war.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Wednesday lashed out at “almost daily” threats from the United States and vowed to meet the Trump administration’s move to cut off the island’s fuel supplies with “unyielding resistance.”
— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.
