Trump Declares ‘Cuba Is Finished’ While Letting Russian Oil Tanker Break Illegal US Blockade

This article was originally published in Common Dreams under Creative Commons 3.0 license. Read the original article. Contact: editor@commondreams.org

By Jake Johnson

President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration would let a Russia-owned tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of oil to reach Cuba, loosening the illegal fuel blockade that has intensified the island’s already-grave humanitarian crisis.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that “if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem,” backing off his previous threat to tariff any nation that supplied the besieged island with fuel. Cuba has not received any oil imports since January 9, sparking nationwide blackouts and food shortages and leaving hospitals without critical supplies—with deadly consequences for patients.

Trump insisted that the oil on the Russian tanker—which experts say is enough to buy Cuba at least several weeks of energy—is “not going to have an impact,” declaring, “Cuba is finished.”

“They have a bad regime, and they have very bad and corrupt leadership,” added Trump, who presides over what analysts have deemed the most corrupt administration in US history. “Whether or not they get a boat of oil is not going to matter.”

Trump’s comments came after The New York Times reported that, “barring orders instructing it otherwise,” the US Coast Guard would not intercept the Russian tanker as it approached Cuba.

See also: Trump says Cuba ‘will be next’ as crisis deepens

The Russian vessel, known as the Anatoly Kolodkin, is expected to reach the island by Monday night, providing some reprieve to a nation whose economy has been strangled by unlawful US economic warfare for decades. In recent days, an international convoy of activists has delivered tons of food, medicine, and other aid to the island, but the shipments are a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.

Michael Gallant, a member of the Progressive International Secretariat, welcomed news that the US is allowing the Russian tanker to reach Cuba as “very good news”—but said Trump’s decision is hardly deserving of praise.

See also: Trump weighs Iran strike as talks begin

Trump imposed the fuel blockade in January, absurdly characterizing Cuba as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to “take” Cuba by force, calling it a “very weakened nation.” Trump’s remarks prompted Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to vow “impregnable resistance” to any US attempt to seize the island. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking Díaz-Canel’s removal as a necessary condition in talks with the Cuban government.

Trump’s threats led Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to introduce legislation last week that would prohibit the administration from using federal funds for any attack on Cuba without congressional authorization.

“Trump has started illegal regime change conflicts in Venezuela and Iran and is now threatening Cuba,” Jayapal said in a statement. “These military attacks put our troops in danger, endanger innocent civilians, waste billions of taxpayer dollars, and are not what the American people want.”

“Trump promised to end forever wars—he lied,” Jayapal added. “Congress alone has the power to declare war, something Trump clearly does not respect. He has no plan to improve conditions for the Cuban people or promote democracy, and we must pass this legislation to block him from acting on a whim.”

[KS]

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