By G. Dunkel
April 10, 2026
A Russian oil tanker made a delivery to Cuba on March 31. Its 700,000 barrels of crude oil, after it has been processed, will alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people, at least for a short period. Russia has said it is loading another tanker, and on March 30 President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said her country had “every right” to send fuel to Cuba. Mexico and Russia are openly challenging the U.S. policy of economic strangulation.
Russian oil tanker headed toward Cuba.
While the United States has maintained a financial and economic blockade of Cuba for 64 years, President Donald Trump wants to have the “honor of taking Cuba.” He told reporters in the Oval Office March 16: “I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. Cuba is next.” (Reuters, March 16)
Trump used the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores to stop the oil supply that Venezuela sent to Cuba. Earlier in January he had declared a “national emergency” due to the alleged “unusual and extraordinary threat” that, according to Washington, Cuba poses to the security of the United States.
This “emergency” was used by the president as an excuse to threaten Mexico — Cuba’s other major source of oil — with punishing tariffs if it sent oil to Cuba. He also threatened retaliation against countries that act against the White House executive order.
Keeping oil from reaching Cuba not only hampered electricity generation, it kept garbage from being picked up, food from being delivered and health care from being provided. It was not just oil being blockaded; supplies of sutures for surgery and vaccination syringes were also blocked.
Reaction to this cruel embargo
Fifty members of the U.S. Congress wrote an open letter to Trump April 2 condemning “a crisis your administration is actively worsening through its expansion of a policy that has failed for more than six decades.” The letter added: “For 64 years, the United States has relied on the flawed premise that maximum pressure would yield political change on the island. It has not.”
The representatives basically call for diplomacy, recognizing the humanitarian needs of the Cuban people. They believe that military action and blockades don’t lead to political change, i.e., the overthrow of socialism in Cuba, a goal of both Democrats and Republicans.
Many of the 44 million people living in the Caribbean have benefited from Cuba’s active program of medical care. In 2025, at an international conference on health care, the Haitian Minister of Health Bertrand Sinal joined representatives of other governments around the world to support Cuba’s international medical brigades in the face of Washington’s ongoing attacks. Dr. Sinal received his medical training in Cuba. (Haiti-Libre, April 28, 2025)
A more recent conference of the 15 Caribbean countries that belong to CARICOM (The Caribbean Community) was held February 24 – 28, which U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended. The event was marked by disagreements over U.S. policies in the region but a general agreement over Cuba’s need for humanitarian aid.
At the official level, subject to the manipulations of U.S. policy, there is disagreement and discord over Cuba. But at the grassroots level, a tremendous number of popular organizations around the world support Cuba — in education, health care and sports. Cuba’s generous solidarity is reciprocated and recognized.
