United States President Donald Trump has said Russia could send oil to Cuba Washington’s effective fuel blockade, as a Russian tanker carrying crude approached the island to deliver much-needed supplies.
The tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, was spotted off Cuba’s northeastern coast on Sunday evening and is expected to dock at the western port city of Matanzas. According to shipping data, the vessel is carrying about 730,000 barrels of crude oil, which could provide temporary relief for the Caribbean nation’s worsening energy crisis.
The shipment would be the first major oil delivery to Cuba in about three months, as the country struggles with severe fuel shortages that have triggered widespread blackouts and disrupted transport and healthcare services.
Speaking to reporters while flying back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said he would not object if Russia or any other country supplied oil to the island.
“If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not,” he said.
Trump added that the humanitarian needs of the Cuban people justified allowing the shipment.
“I’d prefer letting it in, whether it’s Russia or anybody else, because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things that you need,” he said.
Despite the temporary relief, the US president renewed his criticism of Cuba’s communist leadership and predicted the government would soon collapse.
“Cuba’s finished. They have a bad regime, they have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter,” Trump said.
The delivery comes as Cuba faces one of its worst economic and energy crises in decades. The country lost its main oil supplier earlier this year after US actions disrupted supplies from Venezuela following the capture of its socialist leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Washington had previously threatened to impose tariffs or sanctions on any country supplying oil to Cuba as part of a strategy to pressure the Havana government.
Trump has also suggested that the United States would intervene if the Cuban government collapses, saying Washington would be ready to help Cuban Americans whose families fled the island during the rule of former leader Fidel Castro.
The arrival of the Russian tanker highlights the continuing geopolitical contest over Cuba, which has historically been a strategic partner of Russia.
Analysts say while the shipment could ease Cuba’s fuel shortage for several days, it is unlikely to resolve the island’s long-term energy crisis.
