Russia may test Trump’s Cuba’s blockade with oil tankers crossing Atlantic

Two vessels carrying Russian oil are reportedly heading for Cuba in the coming days in a move that could test President Trump’s longstanding blockade, according to the Financial Times, citing maritime intelligence companies.  

One of the tankers making its way to the Caribbean island is Sea Horse, a Hong Kong-flagged ship estimated to be carrying approximately 190,000 barrels of gasoil from Russia, according to tracking from maritime AI company Windward.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that another ship, the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin, is roughly 3,000 nautical miles from Cuba and expected to reach the island in 10 days.

Cuba has plunged into a deep economic and energy crisis due to an oil embargo put in place by the Trump administration in January following the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

The island’s electrical grid collapsed earlier this week, leaving nearly 11 million people in the dark for more than 29 hours before power was partially restored. The nation is also facing a worsening humanitarian crisis with limited access to food, water and medication.

The U.S. has sought to leverage economic pressure to push political reform in Cuba, with Trump warning other countries not to do business with the island nation.

The Treasury Department has maintained the blockade, even as it eases sanctions on some Russian and Venezuelan oil in a bid to boost global supply amid the conflict with Iran. Analysts have told The Hill that the Trump administration’s actions are unlikely to have much of an effect on surging prices and that the only meaningful way to do so would be to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

No shipments of oil have arrived on Cuba’s shores in three months, but that could change if the two tankers arrive as anticipated over the next several weeks.

Despite Trump’s threats, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow was “ready to provide all possible assistance” to officials in Havana, according to The Moscow Times.

The potential escalation comes as the U.S. and Cuba are holding discussions to address “bilateral differences” and identify “areas of cooperation,” according to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Díaz-Canel on Wednesday accused the U.S. of threatening the country “almost daily” and pledged to meet any potential aggression with “impregnable resistance,” days after Trump said he believes he will have the “honor” of taking over Cuba.

“Whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it,” Trump told reporters Monday. “You want to know the truth? They’re a very weakened nation now.”

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