Cuban oil blockade

By Nat South

The embargo on Cuba by the U.S. has long running geopolitical struggle in the Western Hemisphere.  One recent aspect of specifically targeting maritime energy transport has created a critical chokehold on the island. First, it was the blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers since December 2025, then the imposition of additional tariffs on any country sending oil to the island nation.  It is a siege all but in name.

While the broad trade embargo has existed since the 1960s, the 2026 blockade of oil tankers is an additional brutal strategy that has pushed Cuba’s energy grid to the brink and causing massive blackouts.

The U.S. transformed the trade embargo into a de facto naval blockade via financial means and potentially some naval support too.

By targeting the tankers—specifically the recent arrivals carrying Russian oil—the US has successfully choked the supply lines, leading to the energy crisis currently unfolding on the island.

Unhinged savagery 

In order to justify the outright aggression against 10 million people, the Trump administration called Cuba’s government “an unusual and extraordinary threat”.  Suffice to say it is a pack of lies, these are crimes against humanity, bloodless as they may seem, they are killing ordinary Cubans, as it is collective punishment.  The situation on the ground in Cuba is deteriorating on a daily basis, with residents facing extended power outages and significant fuel shortages not seen in decades.

The hubris is frightening, to add to what is happening to Gaza for 2 years, Lebanon, Iran, death and destruction on a massive scale.  Trump said: “Cuba will fall. After 50 years, this is the cherry on top of the cake”. The E-files class have settled in and boast about their vile deeds.

Countries do provide some humanitarian aid to Cuba, such as Mexico through its navy, but when there is no fuel to power essential infrastructure such as hospitals, much of the aid is an atom of water in an ocean. The U.S. even offered $6 million in aid, but absolutely no respite or wish to allow any shipment of fuel. It is ghastly pattern repeated worldwide.

The maritime aspect

As outlined in CNBC and Greek Reporter, Russian oil tankers are apparently  heading toward Cuba, amidst a intensely deepening of the island’s energy crisis. Take these points made by CNBC (20 March 2026)

• The U.S. Treasury Department has made clear that Cuba is not allowed to take delivery of Russian crude.
• The warning comes at a time when two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas are thought to be on their way to Havana.

U.S. media has recently has been reporting on the Cuban oil blockade by Washington, with practically no mention of the deepening humanitarian crisis on the island.   The U.S. Treasury has blocked off Cuba from receiving any oil, despite last week’s waiver, to temporarily suspend restrictions on Russian oil for 30 days, to be sold. Instead, it added Cuba to the list of restrictions.

As the CNBC article states: “The tanker Sea Horse is one of the vessels making its way to Cuba, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward.” Well it was up to a point, but the latest update on AIS tracking website, show the Hong Kong flagged oil product tanker heading due south towards Trinidad, with a destination of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela on AIS.

A second Russian-flagged SCF tanker, ‘Anatoly Kolodkin‘, loaded with 730,000 barrels of Russian crude at Primorsky, was escorted through the North Sea and the English Channel by a Russian Navy corvette. A maritime journal reported the following: “Knowing they are being watched, the AIS destination has been reading “Atlantis.”, (20 March, Maritime Executive). The Steregushchiy-class frigate RFN ‘Soobrazitelny‘ has since returned back through the Channel!

Back in February, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter intercepted a tanker bound for Cuba and made it turn away. The ‘Ocean Mariner’, a 13,000 dwt product tanker left from Colombia on the 5th February but never docked in Cuba.

Realistically, what is the prognosis for the MV ‘Anatoly Kolodkin‘ to actually dock in Cuba, without a suitable naval escort?

The despicable Trump administration’s renewed pressure to choke Cuba, to intercept or deter fuel deliveries financially or militarily, should be a case for the ICC, if the world was more equitable.