Sanctioned tanker with Russian oil arrives in Cuba with US consent

On March 31, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas with 730,000 barrels of crude oil on board. Euronews reports this, writes UNN.

Details

Cuba previously received most of its oil from Venezuela, but these supplies stopped after the US attacked the country and arrested its leader Nicolas Maduro in early January.

On Tuesday, a Russian tanker arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker had reached the island. The administration of President Donald Trump allowed the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin to pass despite the ongoing US energy blockade.

The arrival of the vessel was welcomed by Cubans, including Cuba's Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy. The fuel shortage has exacerbated the economic crisis, leading to prolonged power outages and severe shortages of food and medicine.

It is noted that Cuba produces only about 40% of the necessary fuel and depends on imports to provide the energy grid. Experts estimate that the supply could provide about 180,000 barrels of diesel fuel — enough to meet Cuba's daily needs for 9-10 days.

Recall

US President Donald Trump on Sunday evening, March 29, stated that he "has no problem" with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering aid to the island, which is in a difficult situation due to the US oil blockade, and rejected the idea that allowing the ship to reach Cuba would help the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have pushed for policy and governance changes in Cuba, while both sides have acknowledged that negotiations are ongoing as the island's economic and energy crises deepen.