Trump shrugs at Russian tanker headed for Cuba

Donald Trump said he has "no problem" with a Russian oil tanker delivering relief supplies to Cuba, despite his administration taking a sharply tougher line toward the Caribbean island.

Speaking to reporters as he returned to Washington, Trump acknowledged the vessel and suggested he was not inclined to interfere.

"We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive."

Asked about a New York Times report saying the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba, he went further.

"I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it’s Russia or not."

Russian ministry confirms arrival in Matanzas

On Monday, Russia’s Transport Ministry said the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin had arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying about 730,000 barrels of oil, which it described as "humanitarian supplies."

The vessel is itself under sanctions from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom because of the war in Ukraine. That has not stopped it from ending up in the middle of yet another predictable great-power standoff over Cuba, which somehow remains a favorite stage for other countries’ political theatre.

Trump’s administration has taken one of the most aggressive approaches toward Cuba seen from Washington in recent history, effectively cutting off key oil shipments as part of a campaign to force regime change.

The result has been grim for ordinary Cubans. Despite Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying they want to help the population, the blockade has pushed many people into increasingly desperate conditions.

Island-wide blackouts have hit a country already dealing with years of crisis. Shortages of gasoline and basic goods have crippled hospitals and slashed public transport, leaving daily life in a constant state of improvisation.

What the shipment could mean

Experts say the expected delivery could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to meet Cuba’s daily demand for roughly nine or 10 days.

That is not exactly a long-term solution, but in Cuba’s current energy collapse, even a short reprieve matters. A few days of fuel can mean fewer blackouts, a bit more hospital power and a public transport system that works for slightly more than a caffeine-fuelled optimism exercise.

Cuba has long sat at the center of a geopolitical tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia, a rivalry that has outlasted several generations and far too many press briefings.

On Sunday, Trump dismissed the idea that allowing the tanker into Cuba would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It doesn’t help him. He loses one boatload of oil, that’s all it is. If he wants to do that, and if other countries want to do it, it doesn’t bother me much,"

Trump said.

"It’s not going to have an impact. Cuba’s finished. They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter."

He added that he would rather let the shipment in.

"I’d prefer letting it in, whether it’s Russia or anybody else because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things."