U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he was reversing course on blocking oil shipments to Cuba on Sunday, saying he had “no problem” with any country sending in crude as a Russian tanker neared a Cuban port with a badly needed shipment, Reuters reported.
A sanctioned Russian vessel, part of the country’s “shadow fleet,” was just off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to reach port on Monday, a lifeline for the country’s economy that has nearly ground to a halt under a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.
The U.S. cut off Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba after toppling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, and Trump threatened to slap punishing tariffs on any other country that sent crude to Cuba. Mexico, the largest supplier to Cuba along with Venezuela, then halted its shipments, according to Reuters.