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The tanker Sandino arrived this Saturday at the port of Matanzas from Nipe Bay (Holguín) with a possible cargo of fuel.
According to the information shared by the Cuban Joankelin Sánchez, based on data from maritime monitoring sites, the cargo would be between 390,000 and 410,000 barrels of fuel.
According to the same source, the ship is said to have loaded in the bay of Nipe in previous days, although the origin of the cargo at that point remains unknown, thus the initial source of the fuel is not specified.
The report does not provide any additional details at this time regarding the exact type of fuel being transported, the final recipient, the unloading plan, or an official confirmation of the volume. It only notes the arrival of the tanker and the estimated cargo.
The same internet user also mentions another maritime movement: the tanker Sea Horse, flying the Hong Kong flag, is en route to Cuba from Malta to Havana, with an expected arrival at the port of Havana on February 27.
During the first weeks of 2026, the energy crisis in Cuba has revealed a significant decline in the regime's ability to ensure fuel supply.
The year began with alarming signs: six ships operated by the military conglomerate GAESA gathered in the Bay of Matanzas the last available oil reserves, according to reports from independent sources.
Experts warned that the country was "emptying its own tanks to buy time," while electricity generation and fuel distribution were on the brink of collapse.
In mid-January, the situation worsened with the diversion of the tanker Mia Grace, which had departed from Togo heading to Cuba with a load of diesel or fuel oil.
In the midst of its journey across the Atlantic, the vessel changed its course toward the Dominican Republic, reflecting the challenges faced by the Cuban government in securing supply agreements and the increasing financial isolation that prevents it from accessing traditional energy markets.
A few days later, the tanker LPG Emilia was detected sailing towards the south of Cuba with a possible cargo of liquefied petroleum gas.
The reactivation of its movement, after more than a month of inactivity, was seen as an attempt by the regime to keep the minimum distribution of domestic energy afloat. However, its journey also highlighted the island's dependence on an aging fleet operated almost entirely by entities controlled by the State.
By February, a new indication of Cuba's energy insecurity emerged from Venezuela.
A tanker linked to the island loaded 150,000 barrels of gasoline at a Venezuelan port, in what analysts consider an effort to resume the shipment of fuels under the supervision of the United States.
The operation coincided with the worsening of long lines at gas stations, prolonged blackouts, and restrictions on public transportation—symptoms of an energy system on the brink of structural collapse.
The concatenation of these episodes shows that Cuba is undergoing an energy crisis that goes beyond the occasional shortage of fuel.
The lack of strong allies, the reduction of supplies from Venezuela, and the inability to access international credit have forced the country to operate on minimal reserves and to rely on sporadic shipments.
In this scenario, the arrival of a tanker in Matanzas, such as the Sandino, is seen less as a sustained relief and more as a temporary respite amid a backdrop of economic and energy exhaustion.
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