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The arrival of a Russian oil tanker in Cuba has lightened spirits in the country, where a United States (US) energy blockade exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the country in persistent blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine.
Cuba produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. The United States cut off key oil shipments that Cuba used to receive from allies like Venezuela, and the US pushed other countries to stop supplying fuel to the island.
This has severely limited Cuba’s ability to import enough oil and petroleum products, which the country depends on for electricity, transport, hospitals, and industry.
But on Tuesday, a Russian tanker docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas, laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, on Tuesday. This was the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island.
Cubans, including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy, celebrated the ship’s arrival on Tuesday.
A Matanzas resident, Camilo Galves, who watched the ship dock from his home, described the ship’s arrival as a moment of great joy.
“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,” Galves told AFP.
Cuba used to receive most of its oil from Venezuela, but the imports were halted when the US attacked the South American country and arrested its former president, Nicolás Maduro, in January.
Mexico also halted its oil shipments to Cuba in January when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island.
Trump recently threatened to invade Cuba.
“I do believe I’ll be … having the honour of taking Cuba. That’s a big honour. Taking Cuba in some form. I mean, whether I free it, take it. Think I can do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth,” he said.
