Cuba Not Allowed To Accept Russian Oil, U.S. Treasury Department Says

The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Cuba is prohibited from receiving delivery of Russian crude amid the island’s energy crisis.

“Two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas are thought to be on their way to Havana,” CNBC stated.

The U.S. has imposed an oil blockade on Cuba since January.

Two shipments of Russian oil and gas head to Cuba in defiance of US https://t.co/bZmGbAujpt

— Financial Times (@FT) March 18, 2026

CNBC explained further:

In a general license published Thursday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Cuba to a list of countries that would be blocked from transactions involving the sale, delivery or offloading of crude or petroleum products that originate from Russia.

The U.S. had temporarily authorized the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea last week, as part of an effort to stabilize energy markets during the U.S. and Israeli-led war on Iran. The short-term measure suspended sanctions that were first imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The update comes as maritime intelligence providers have been tracking two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas heading toward Cuba.

Beset by blackouts and a worsening economic crisis under a U.S. oil blockade, the communist-run Caribbean island is currently facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier in the week that he thinks he’ll have the “honor” of taking Havana in some form.

Russia, which has been allied to Cuba for decades, has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s fuel blockade and pledged to provide the country with “necessary support, including financial aid.”

According to The Moscow Times, one tanker has “likely” delivered diesel to Cuba.

Thursday’s amendment came after reports emerged that a Russian tanker delivered diesel to Cuba this month as it grapples with a deepening energy crisis that has caused widespread blackouts in recent days.https://t.co/7Fu4hye3s5

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) March 20, 2026

More from The Moscow Times:

The Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse “likely discharged its cargo of approximately 190,000 barrels of gasoil in Cuba in early March,” maritime intelligence firm Windward reported on Wednesday.

If confirmed, this would be the first arrival of a refined petroleum product to Cuba since January, according to Windward, which did not say in which port it might have docked.

A second ship, the sanctioned Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, is also on its way to Cuba carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil, maritime analytics firm Kpler said Wednesday.

Additionally, Reuters reports that a “tanker carrying fuel originally bound for Cuba on Friday changed its destination to Trinidad and Tobago.”

A tanker carrying fuel originally bound for Cuba on Friday changed its destination to Trinidad and Tobago, according to LSEG ship-tracking data, a blow for the island amid a severe fuel scarcity that has triggered power blackouts. https://t.co/BQUTD5iq3O

— Reuters Africa (@ReutersAfrica) March 20, 2026

Earlier this week, Cuba experienced a “total collapse” of its electrical grid.

DEVELOPING: Cuba Experiences “Total Collapse” Of Electrical Grid

What’s your take?