Washington grants brief reprieve on humanitarian grounds but says policy unchangedThe Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrives carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil to Cuba on March 31, 2026. (Photo: AFP)MATANZAS, Cuba - A Russian oil tanker arrived in a Cuban port on Tuesday to deliver the first crude shipment to the island since January after Washington gave the crisis-hit country a reprieve from an effective fuel blockade. “We allowed this ship to reach Cuba in order to provide humanitarian needs to the Cuban people. Experts said the Russian oil would buy the Cuban economy only a few weeks. Herrero said the shipment was just “another donation” by Cuba’s Russian ally, but he doubted that Moscow wanted to subsidise the Cuban economy in the long term.

Source: Bangkok Post March 31, 2026 13:32 UTC