Trump Blinks As Russia Defies U.S. Blockade, Delivers Oil To Cuba

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba prepared to welcome Monday a sanctioned Russian tanker The ship, carrying nearly 730,000 barrels of oil, was the first such delivery this year to the island brought to its knees by a US oil blockade.

Coming in a day US President Donald Trump he told reporters he had “no problems”. Russian oil tanker We are delivering aid to Cuba.

exact location Anatoly Kolodkin with Russian flag It continued to be the subject of conflicting reports. While Russia’s Ministry of Transport and state-run news portal Cubadebate said the ship had already arrived, ship tracking data showed it was still sailing in Cuban waters, with an estimated docking time of Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia had previously discussed oil shipments to Cuba with the United States. “Russia sees it as its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our Cuban friends,” he told reporters.

The tanker’s final destination is the port of Matanzas, a strategic hub for an island that produces barely 40% of its required fuel and is dependent on imports to maintain its energy network. Experts say the expected shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to meet Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

Asked Monday about Trump’s decision to allow the Russian oil tanker and allow tankers from other countries, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “a decision that will continue to be made on a case-by-case basis, whether for humanitarian reasons or other reasons,” adding that “there is no definitive change in our sanctions policy.”

Trump, whose government has attacked its Caribbean foe more aggressively than any U.S. government in recent history, has effectively cut Cuba off from key oil shipments. to force regime change. There was a blockade devastating effects on civilians Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they wanted to help, leaving many desperate.

There were power outages across the island Cubans have been grappling with a years-long crisis, with a lack of gasoline and basic resources paralyzing hospitals and disrupting public transportation.

While the island was struggling with economic problems, Mexico sent oil to Cuba for years in solidarity. energy crisisbut actually had to stop shipments. Threat of US tariffs. Mexico has turned to sending humanitarian aid, including food and hygiene products.

When asked about Trump’s comments on allowing the passage of the Russian ship, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum He told reporters that his country would continue to send aid and that “work is ongoing” with Cuban officials to trade oil in the future.

Sheinbaum, who walked a fine line with Trump to balance threats of tariffs and military action against the cartels, offered few details.

He noted that private companies, including hotels in Cuba, are “looking for private entities that want to provide them with fuel” and that they have applied to Mexico’s state-owned oil company to purchase crude oil and that these requests are being reviewed.

Cuba is at the center of a decades-old geopolitical dispute between the United States and Russia.

Trump on Sunday rejected the idea that allowing the boat to reach Cuba would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This doesn’t do him any good. He’s losing a boatload of oil, that’s all. If he wants to do it and other countries want to do it, that doesn’t bother me that much,” Trump said. “This will have no effect. Cuba is doomed. They have a bad regime. They have a very bad and corrupt leadership and it won’t matter if they get a boatload of oil.”

The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on several ships, including the Anatoly Kolodkin, which was carrying Russian oil. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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