One of the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ships, the Sea Horse, is said to have loaded around 27,000 tons of gas and will reach Cuba in March. The second Russian tanker has loaded between 725,000 and 728,000 barrels of oil (one barrel is 159 liters) and is not expected until April.

Putin sends oil and gas to Cuba

Cuba has more supplies than it needs: the country is suffering from an extreme crisis Energy and economic crisis triggered by a blockade of the United States. There are frequent power outages and interruptions to basic services such as water supply or the internet. The British “Guardian” reported that ten million people were recently left without electricity after the electricity system collapsed.

US President Donald Trump is behind all of this. After the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – previously a key ally of Cuba – the US has increased pressure and cut off Venezuelan shipments to Cuba. The White House has also threatened higher tariffs to all countries that sell oil to Cuba.

“Don’t send crude oil to Cuba”

Cuba needs around 100,000 barrels of oil a day to function, but only produces two-fifths of that. Every day without oil supplies brings the country closer to the point of running out of supplies. Russian deliveries alone are not enough: every crude oil that reaches Cuba must first be processed, which can take another 20 to 30 days.

“That’s why we always say: Don’t send crude oil to Cuba,” Bloomberg quoted researcher Jorge Piñon from the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute as saying. “You have to send the finished product.”

Russia’s connection to the Caribbean

Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin risks new US tariffs with the deliveries. He could rely on the fact that the amounts of oil and gas are very small and that they are not helping Cuba enough anyway. The think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) sees Russia’s involvement in the region as more of a symbolic policy – Moscow wants to show that it has a certain influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Cuba has supported Russia in the Ukraine war in the past. The country has sent 20,000 Cuban mercenaries to fight alongside Kremlin troops against Ukrainian defenders.

What happens next depends entirely on Trump. In March he was already toying with the idea of ​​simply taking over Cuba – or “liberating” it in some way.