US to allow Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba in lifeline for Caribbean island
Cuba has not received an oil tanker in three months, according to its president, leading to strict petrol rationing and blackouts
A sanctioned Russian vessel, part of the country’s “shadow fleet”, was just off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to reach port on Monday, a lifeline for the country’s economy that has nearly ground to a halt under a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.
As a result, Cuba has not received an oil tanker in three months, according to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, exacerbating an energy crisis that has led to strict rationing of petrol and a series of blackouts across the country of 10 million people. Cuban health officials say the crisis has increased the mortality risk for Cuban cancer patients, especially children.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump expressed sympathy for the Cuban people’s need for energy and said he was unconcerned with any help it might provide the communist government in Havana because he predicted it would soon fall on its own.
“If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not,” Trump said.