Russia sends a ship with 650,000 barrels of crude oil to Cuba

The Russian government sent a shipment of 650,000 barrels of crude oil to Cuba, marking the first supply in more than a year, and will arrive on the island in a context of protests over the lack of energy and food in the country.

The ship loaded with650,000 barrels of crude oil, is valued at almost $50 million. This shipment seeks to alleviate the blackouts that affect a large part of the Cuban territory, extending up to 18 hours a day.

WHICH He noted that the tanker left Russia on March 9, and its arrival is scheduled for the end of this month. This is the first delivery of crude oil from Moscow to Havana in more than a year.

TheCuban energy crisis has intensified in the last three years, with an electrical system that depends on fossil fuels and faces an overload, since the generation plants have been in operation for more than four decades, and are operating beyond their scheduled useful life.

One of the most important CTE in the country, the Antonio Guiteras, has been out of service for two weeks for maintenance and must join the SEN this Monday, but the government said it was not sure of achieving this.

The Energy Institute of the University of Texas pointed out that oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba have decreased noticeably, added to the absence of Russian exports during the past year. The fuel shortage worsened after the fire in the main collection center in Matanzas in 2022.

Despite shipments from Mexico, which last year totaled more than 5 million barrels, the island continues to face a significant deficit in fuel and energy generation.

The Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines,Vicente de la O Levy, admitted that, although partial improvements are expected, Cuba will go through "tense" and "critical" periods due to financial difficulties in acquiring fuels in the external market.

In this context of desperation, on Sunday different cities in Cuba were the scene ofdemonstrations against the government, where Cubans expressed their discontent over food shortages and long power outages.

The population, fed up, loudly demanded freedom and the end of the communist system that governs the island.

In recent times, high-level official visits have been made between Cuba and Russia, such as that of the Minister of Foreign TradeRicardo Cabrisas, to Moscow, where a new loan was granted to Havana, the amount of which has not been disclosed, to guarantee a stable supply of products such asoil, wheat and fertilizers.