Sanctioned Russian tanker docks in Cuba after US allows passage despite
energy blockade
[April 01, 2026]
By MILEXSY DURÁN
MATANZAS, Cuba (AP) — A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port
of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in
three months that an oil tanker reached the island.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had allowed the
Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing U.S. energy blockade.
Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered
the ship’s arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep
economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and
facing a severe shortage of food and medicine.
“Our gratitude to the Government and People of Russia for all the
support we are receiving. A valuable shipment that arrives amid the
complex energy situation we are facing,” de la O Levy wrote on X.
Cuba produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to
sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could
produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily
demand for nine or 10 days.
“The arrival of an oil tanker to a country has likely never generated so
much news as the Russian one to Cuba,” wrote Cuban Deputy Foreign
Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío on X. “It’s a sign of the brutal
siege Cubans endure with heroism and stoicism. It’s a demonstration of
the criminal cruelty of imperialism against a nation that refuses to be
dominated.”
Some Cubans, however, wondered who would benefit from the newly arrived
shipment.
“A ship comes; it gives us aid. But who does it go to? Because we don’t
get anything here,” said 54-year-old Matanzas resident Leticia Almeida
Barceló. "The ships that come in with oil or anything else don’t give us
anything. Because we’re still stuck with blackouts, with water
shortages, with shortages and shortages, and we need everything.”
The vessel's arrival was watched by some fishermen as it docked under
the early morning sun.
“We’ve been waiting for the ship to arrive because it’s been some time
since any ship entered,” said 50-year-old Armando Ramirez. “And it is
needed here for the people, for Cuba.”
Others celebrating the arrival included Matanzas resident Camilo Galves,
who watched the ship dock from his home.
“This is undoubtedly a great relief for the Cuban people and a moment of
great joy for us amid so many hardships we are experiencing,” he said.
“It’s yet another sign that we are not alone in the world.”
[to top of second column]
|
Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrives in Matanzas,
Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Cuba used to receive most of its oil from Venezuela, but those
shipments were halted ever since the U.S. attacked the South
American country and arrested its leader in early January.
Since then, Mexico also has halted its oil shipments to Cuba as
Trump threatened in late January to impose tariffs on any country
that sells or provides oil to the island. The U.S. administration is
demanding that Cuba's government ease political repression and
liberalize its economy for a lifting of sanctions.
On Sunday night, Trump had said he had “no problem” with a Russian
oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island,
“We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need …
they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to
Washington.
“Cuba’s finished,” he added. “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.”
The vessel is sanctioned by the United States, the European Union
and the United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine.
On Monday, when asked about Trump’s decision to allow the Russian
oil tanker and not ones 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 for humanitarian reasons or
otherwise,” adding that “there’s been no firm change in our
sanctions policy.”
Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been pressuring
for major changes in Cuba's policies and governance. Both sides have
said talks are taking place, as the island's economic and energetic
crises deepen.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
