The Russian tanker Universal, which departed from Vistino on April 6, 2026 loaded with approximately 270,000 barrels of diesel destined for Cuba, never reached the island: it drifted in the Atlantic for more than 21 days and ultimately diverted to Brazil, according to researcher Jorge Piñón from the Energy Institute at the University of Texas in a recent interview.
Piñón described the behavior of the ship accurately: the Universal drifted aimlessly in the Atlantic waters for weeks, "spinning like a top without heading anywhere," before it took a route to the south. "Eventually, it took a route to the south and arrived in Brazil, and it is in Brazil," the expert stated.
For Piñón, the case of the Universal is not an isolated incident, but rather confirmation of a pattern: «even the Russians, for some reason, have become afraid of the United States and have not entered Cuba».
The researcher pointed out that Moscow's promises have remained just words. "We have seen statements from the ambassador, we have seen declarations from Moscow that we are here ready to help our Cuban brothers," he said, but warned that the reality is different: "When a Russian cargo ship or tanker approaches Cuban waters, it falters, does not enter, and withdraws."
The Russian oil tanker Universal, sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada, had been documented by Piñón as a vessel clearly heading to Cuba. According to The Moscow Times, U.S. authorities did not authorize the ship to continue toward the island, which would explain the diversion.
Russia is not the only ally that has let the Cuban regime down. Piñón was emphatic: "Mexico is not sending any oil" and estimates that it will not do so in the coming months, partly because it does not want to enter into negotiations for the new free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico "with a problem with Cuba." Venezuela, for its part, is also not sending oil, "not even on ghost ships," a method it previously used habitually.
The expert also dismissed the possibility of tankers entering Cuba clandestinely without being detected. "With the U.S. Navy and now the aircraft carrier Nimitz, along with all the satellite optical capabilities that the U.S. military has, we doubt that any tanker has entered Cuba and unloaded fuel," he stated.
In response to the question of why Cuba has not reached the so-called "zero moment" for fuel despite forecasts, Piñón acknowledged that the estimates were incorrect. Cuba had greater strategic reserves than calculated, attributable to two factors: storage in refineries—including possibly the tanks at the Matanzas terminal rebuilt after the 2022 fire, although designated for crude oil for thermoelectric plants and not for diesel or gasoline—and the use of "four or five tankers that Cuba has which are currently in different ports," possibly utilized as floating fuel depots.
"I believe we did not make a good estimate of the storage volume in the refineries, and we also did not take into account the four or five tankers that Cuba has, which are currently in different ports and are possibly being used as storage," Piñón admitted, emphasizing that the forecasts regarding fuel shortages on the island underestimated the regime's reserve capacity.
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