Spain to Send Food, Russia Signals Upcoming Fuel Delivery

Spain said on Monday it will send one million euros in food and health aid to Cuba via the United Nations. The announcement was made following a meeting in Madrid between the Cuban and Spanish foreign ministers.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla wrote on X that the two countries reaffirmed their “willingness to strengthen political, economic-commercial dialogue and cooperation for the benefit of both countries.”

On Wednesday, Rodriguez Parilla met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Reuters reported last week that a Russian diplomat in Cuba told the newspaper Izvestia that Moscow will supply Cuba oil “in the near future."

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "We wouldn’t want any escalation [with Washington], but on the other hand, we don't have much trade with the United States right now."

Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war four years ago, Russia was hit with additional U.S. sanctions.

William LeoGrande, professor of government at American University in Washington, D.C., and a specialist in U.S.-Cuba relations, told Belly of the Beast that over the last two years, Russian deliveries have accounted for just under 10% of Cuba’s total oil consumption.

“The open question,” he said, “is whether Russia will now increase the oil it is sending to provide a cushion against the U.S. oil blockade.”