In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a fuel blockade of Cuba. Prior to the blockade, President Trump declared a national state of emergency in the U.S. and threatened to impose tariffs on all oil imports from other countries to Cuba. 

The U.S. and Cuba have experienced heightened tensions for decades. During the Cold War, President Kennedy enacted an embargo with Cuba that has persisted for almost 65 years. 

The embargo prohibits all trade and financial transactions between the U.S. and Cuba, which has drastically affected Cuba’s economy. It was established with the goal of dismantling Cuba’s communist government, which it has failed to do, inciting Trump’s recent response to block fuel imports. 

Many tactics have been used by the U.S. to attempt to eliminate communism globally, especially in Cuba. U.S. efforts to dismantle the country’s communist party have left the island with unstable infrastructure and limited access to international trade and resources. 

Cubans rely on oil imports to power the country’s grid. With insufficient energy infrastructure, they have been experiencing frequent blackouts for years. Unreliable electricity prevents hospitals, water and appliances from functioning and limits the lifestyles of many Cubans. After the blockade was enacted in January, nationwide blackouts increased exponentially. 

The increased blackouts have prevented Cuban hospitals from operating efficiently and refrigerators are unable to preserve food. The United Nations condemned President Trump’s blockade for causing a humanitarian crisis. The U.N. also claimed the executive order violates sovereign equality, self-determination and non-intervention with limited credible evidence of “transnational terrorist groups.” 

A recent Russian oil shipment was allowed to reach the island on March 28, the first oil tanker to dock since the blockade began. The shipment provided a short relief for the population, and was considered by Cuban authorities to be “breaking” the U.S.sanctioned blockade. 

On March 29, President Trump said that he had “no problem” with the Russian tanker, further commenting that “Cuba’s finished.” The president has long expressed a strong interest in dismantling the communist Cuban government, and threatened nations with tariffs if they attempt to transport oil to Cuba. 

When asked why the Russian tanker was permitted to pass the blockade where ships from other countries have not been, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision was and will continue to be “made on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian reasons or otherwise.”  

Russia announced two days after Leavitt’s comment that they are planning to send a second oil tanker to Cuba.