Russia ships fuel to Cuba using 'spoofing' tactic challenging Trump embargo: reports

Russia is covertly shipping lipid to Cuba utilizing deceptive shipping strategies to bypass U.S. sanctions, according to maritime intelligence reports, and arsenic nan land grapples pinch substance shortages and powerfulness outages.

One alleged transportation came amid 1 of Cuba’s worst power crises and up of a grid illness connected March 16 which near astir 10 cardinal group without electricity, according to Cuban authorities and nan U.S. Embassy successful Cuba.

"The Hong Kong-flagged tanker, which is not sanctioned, has AIS patterns that propose nan tanker spoofed its location and apt sailed to Cuba to discharge its cargo successful early March," Windward AI said.

The Financial Times besides reported March 18 that different Russian-flagged tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying crude oil, was expected to scope Cuba by April 4.

"We are fresh to supply each imaginable assistance," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had told reporters astatine a briefing connected Cuba connected March 17, The Moscow Times reported.

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Russia uses deceptive maritime strategies to bypass U.S. sanctions connected struggling Cuba amid power shortages (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The alleged shipments came arsenic elder officials astatine nan State Department told Fox News that, nether existing law, location are ways for Cuban companies and citizens to acquisition oil, but said nan Cuban authorities is making that impossible. 

The U.S. lipid embargo prevents nan Cuban authorities from purchasing lipid only, nan charismatic confirmed.

Windward AI first identified nan tanker, Sea Horse, arsenic nan cardinal alloy successful nan suspected clandestine lipid transportation successful its study connected March 18.

The patient said nan alloy was thought to person transported astir 190,000 to 200,000 barrels to Cuba while engaging successful behaviour accordant pinch sanctions evasion. Although nan alloy is not nether sanctions, Windward analysts flagged respective suspicious activities.

These included switching disconnected its Automatic Identification System (AIS) during a ship-to-ship transportation adjacent Cyprus — wherever it apt loaded its cargo — and sailing without Western insurance, some communal indicators of sanctions circumvention.

The tanker besides many times altered its stated destination, initially signaling Havana earlier changing to "Gibraltar for orders," a maneuver often utilized to obscure last transportation points.

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A tanker sailing nether nan emblem of Cuba, arrives astatine nan larboard of Havana connected February 9, 2026.  (YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images)

After crossing nan Atlantic, it appeared to drift while broadcasting that it was "not nether command," pinch analysts suggesting its AIS signals whitethorn person been manipulated to conceal its existent location and activities.

These movements powerfully bespeak that nan alloy whitethorn person completed an unreported transportation to Cuba earlier resuming normal transmissions.

Since Jan. 29, U.S. measures — efficaciously creating an lipid blockade — person disrupted substance shipments to nan island.

The argumentation displacement followed awesome changes successful Venezuela and nan apprehension of Nicolás Maduro, further tightening proviso to Cuba and discouraging different tankers from approaching its ports.

President Donald Trump had warned that countries supplying lipid to Cuba could look tariffs, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned nan measures arsenic an "economic war" and pledged continued guidance successful a station shared connected X.

"The only measurement for Cuba to hole its power situation is to reside nan guidelines origin of its economical failures: full authorities power of economical life," a U.S. charismatic told Fox News connected March 17.

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People locomotion connected nan thoroughfare during a blackout successful Havana, Cuba, connected Monday, March 16, 2026.  (Ramon Espinosa/AP)

"The authorities must make important changes, allowing for privatization and for nan Cuban group to supply for themselves," they said.

Otherwise, different elder State Department charismatic said Cuba's blackouts person "sadly go communal for galore years successful Cuba — a denotation of nan failing regime’s incompetence and inability to supply moreover nan astir basal equipment and services for its people."

"This is nan tragic consequence of complete 60 years of Communist rule. An land that was erstwhile nan crown jewel of nan Caribbean has plunged into utmost poorness and darkness.

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"As President Trump has said, what is near of nan authorities should make a woody and yet fto nan Cuban group beryllium free and prosperous, pinch nan thief of nan United States," nan charismatic said.

"Cuba correct now is successful very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco," Trump told reporters March 17 earlier adding that "we’ll beryllium doing thing pinch Cuba very soon."