First Oil Tanker in Three Months Arrives in Cuba

Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrived in Cuba Tuesday carrying more than 700,000 barrels of oil, the first shipment in three months to reach the island.

The Trump administration tightened an already escalating squeeze on Cuba’s oil supply in late January, effectively imposing a blockade that halted imports. Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department temporarily eased restrictions on Russian fuel exports due to the supply issues generated by the Iran war. However, the Treasury Department made clear that the exemption did not apply to Cuba.

On Sunday, Trump seemed to reverse course.

"We have a tanker out there. We don't mind having somebody get a boatload because they need... they have to survive," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday e that the U.S. would handle Cuba fuel deliveries “on a case-by-case basis,” but made it clear this did not mean a “firm change in our sanctions policy.”

According to Cuban authorities, the crude will now be processed and will be available by the second half of April.