By: Staff Writer
March 31, 2026
The Trump administration is loosening its blockade on Cuba by allowing a Russian oil tanker to reach the island nation with hopes of easing the country’s oil shortage that has sparked power outages.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow considered it its duty to help Cuba, according to Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti. He added that Havana needed petroleum products amid a de facto U.S. oil blockade.
A Russian oil tanker carrying a humanitarian shipment of 100,000 tons of crude oil reportedly arrived in Cuba earlier in the day.
The sanctioned Anatoly Kolodkin vessel was said to be waiting to unload shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had “no problem” with a Russian crude tanker delivering fuel to Cuba.
The oil shipment – the first to reach Cuba since January – comes hours after US President Donald Trump said that he had no problem with countries, including Russia, sending supplies to the island.
Trump’s remark appeared to signal a loosening of a de facto oil blockade his administration had imposed on Cuba since January.
Cuba has been experiencing a series of nation-wide blackouts as the blockade exacerbated existing fuel shortages.
The US Coast Guard has two cutters in the region that could have attempted to intercept the Russian tanker, according to the report, but the Trump administration did not execute an order to stop the ship.
No explanation has been given as to why the White House did not issue orders to block the tanker or whether it would allow future Russian oil shipments to reach the island country, which is located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Florida.
The decision to allow the tanker to reach Cuba avoids a potential US confrontation with Russia, at least for now.
The US oil blockade has suffocated energy use in Cuba, leading to daily blackouts, severe gas shortages, soaring prices and deteriorating medical care, according to the Times report.
The United Nations has criticized the blockade, blaming the US for causing a humanitarian crisis in Cuba.