The Russian ship Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil, arrived at the port of Matanzas, east of the capital Havana, on Tuesday morning, Cuban local time.

This was a huge relief for Cuba, which has been facing an acute fuel crisis since January. Experts say that the processing of this crude oil will meet Cuba's daily demand for at least 10 days.

Even a few days of relief is a big relief for Cuba, as fuel shortages have left homes without electricity, food delivery vehicles have been stranded on the roads, garbage cannot be collected from the city, and hospitals are facing problems due to load shedding.

The United States has said that it allowed the Russian ship to enter the Caribbean Sea considering the humanitarian situation in Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials are not ready to admit that the latest humanitarian crisis in Cuba began because of Trump.

‘The Cuban economic system is not working. The system will not change until the government changes,’ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Al Jazeera on March 30. ‘We have no hand in the load shedding that is going on there.’ Last year, there was a power outage like this. Their power grid has equipment from the 1950s. It has never been repaired or upgraded.’

Rubio himself is of Cuban descent. His parents came to the US in 1956 during the rule of dictator Fulgencio Batista. Two and a half years later, the Cuban revolution brought Fidel Castro to power. Rubio was born in 1971 in Miami, Florida. Many of his relatives have since sought refuge in the US.

Rubio has been opposing the communist regime in Cuba since the beginning of his political career. Even before he became Secretary of State, he was calling for the US to change the regime in Cuba. In an interview in 2021, he even claimed that his parents had to leave the country because of the communist regime. The Washington Post confirmed that this claim was false.

Donald Trump has been adopting an aggressive foreign policy in the United States since he became president. He has adopted a policy of economic sanctions, blockades and the use of military force against countries that do not accept American interests. Which the Trump administration calls the 'maximum pressure' campaign.

Rubio has great support in this. The US is currently fighting Iran together with Israel.

Trump decided to attack Iran on February 28 while the talks were ongoing. He has claimed that Iran's nuclear program should be completely ended and that there should be a change of government there.

Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were kidnapped by the US from their bedroom on January 3.

Now, Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez is forced to follow the US's orders. Trump had warned that Delcy's government would pay a bigger price than Maduro for going against US interests.

Not only this, he also announced a plan for the US to take control of Venezuela's oil fields indefinitely and sell the crude oil there on the world market.

Rubio played a major role in planning the kidnapping of Maduro, who is near Cuba.

Trump has also put forward a plan to acquire the autonomous island of Denmark. Denmark has condemned the plan as a violation of its sovereignty. Italy, France, and Germany, among other European countries, have also objected.

When Maduro was kidnapped in Venezuela, the country's sovereignty was not the only thing that was affected. Cuba was also in trouble. Cuba, which has been under a US embargo since the 1960s, had recently imported most of its oil from Venezuela.

In return, Cuba sent doctors and soldiers from its country. On January 3, 32 Cuban soldiers also lost their lives fighting against US troops who went to attack Maduro. Similarly, a large number were injured.

On January 11, Trump wrote on his own social media account, Truth, that "Cuba lived on Venezuelan oil and money for many years." In return, he also provided security services to the last two dictators. That won't happen anymore. Venezuela now has the most powerful US military in the world. It no longer needs the protection of thugs. No more oil and money going to Cuba!'

Venezuela, which went through a US military intervention after the kidnapping of President Maduro, stopped supplying oil to Cuba. Oil from Mexico had been flowing for a few more days.

On January 29, Trump signed an executive order to increase customs duties on countries that supply fuel to Cuba. Mexico also tightened its grip. Cuba, with a population of about 11 million, has been in constant trouble since then.

Electricity production and transportation in the Caribbean island of Cuba have been at a standstill due to a lack of oil. There have been two nationwide power outages in March. Hospitals have reduced surgeries. The number of public transport has been reduced.

Due to the lack of gas, people have started using firewood to cook. In the capital, Havana, people are facing load shedding of up to 15 hours. In rural areas, load shedding periods are even longer.

The United Nations has said that all these actions could cause humanitarian catastrophe. Cuba's health system was considered exemplary in the world, and during the Covid period, doctors here went to Italy, Andorra and other European countries to provide services. But now, due to the lack of electricity, medical equipment cannot be operated here.

'If the current situation continues and the country's fuel reserves run out, the situation will be very bad and people will die,' said Francisco Pichon, the UN coordinator for Cuba.

Trump is shocked that US pressure in Cuba has caused the ruling party to face problems. 'Cuba is a failed country.' They have no money, no oil, nothing. But it’s a beautiful island. I’ve heard about America and Cuba my whole life. I think it would be a great honor for me to take Cuba,” Trump said at the White House on March 16.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his country was in talks with the United States to prevent a possible military intervention. On March 27, Trump suggested that an invasion of Cuba might be possible. “I’ve built the most powerful military in the world. I rarely use it, but sometimes I have to. Now, what about Cuba?” he said.

Negotiation efforts

Cuba, a Spanish colony, gained independence with the help of the United States. From 1898–1902, the United States fought a war of independence in Cuba against Spain.

From 1906 to 1909, Cuba was administered by the United States. Relations between the two countries were good until the revolution in 1959. After the Cuban Revolution overthrew military dictator Fulgencio Baptista and established a communist government under the leadership of Fidel Castro, the distance between the two countries increased.

During the Cold War, the United States did not like the arrival of a communist government in its neighborhood. The United States wanted to keep Cuba under its own control. But Cuba prioritized its sovereignty. On the other hand, Fidel Castro's policy of nationalizing sugar factories, oil refineries, and banks opened with American investment also irritated the United States.

Since 1960, the United States has imposed a blockade on it. Which is still in place. This is the longest blockade imposed by one country on another in the modern world.

During the Cold War, Cuba built very good relations with the Soviet Union and, after 1990, with its neighbors, including Mexico and Venezuela, to combat the economic challenges created by the US blockade. While other countries provide military assistance in the world, Cuba sends doctors and medicines to natural disasters and epidemics around the world.

Founded in 2005, the

Henry Reeve Medical Brigade is Cuba's soft power. Members of this brigade have reached many countries around the world and provided assistance during storms, hurricanes, epidemics, and emergencies. During the great earthquake in 2015, Cuba also sent a team of 49 people, including doctors, nurses, and technicians, to Nepal. They set up an emergency hospital in Kirtipur and treated patients. Members of this brigade risked their lives to serve the sick during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the COVID epidemic in various countries around the world. This is why even America's allies have shown goodwill towards Cuba. For the third consecutive year, more than 90 percent of countries have passed a resolution condemning the US embargo on Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly.

The last time, in October 2025, 167 countries voted in favor of the resolution and only 7 countries, including the US, Israel, and Ukraine, voted against it. Cuba is also considered a very safe and beautiful destination for tourists.

Medical education and medical tourism are a good source of income for Cuba. However, the current crisis has disrupted all of this. It has been a long time since fuel shortages in Cuba have stopped flights except for emergencies. There are also ongoing demonstrations against the government led by Miguel Diaz-Canel. On March 14, the Communist Party office in Moron was set on fire. After this, the government arrested the protesters. The government alleges that the demonstrations were instigated by the United States. The United States is also trying to negotiate. The news that Raulito, the grandson of former President and Supreme Leader of Cuba Raul Castro, is holding talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio was previously published in the American media Axios.

Raulito was Raulito's bodyguard when Raul Castro was president. The American media has also discussed that the United States is trying to implement a reform plan in Cuba by making him president. Even though 96-year-old Raul Castro

has left politics, politics continues to follow him.

Experts say that the United States is negotiating with people close to him because he is an influential and well-respected leader in Cuban politics.

Castro family member Oscar Perez Oliva Fraga and former Deputy Prime Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda have been discussed by the US media as potential presidents. Miguel Diaz is the first person outside the Castro family to reach the highest office after the revolution in Cuba. He is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

As soon as he became president in 2018, the Trump administration tightened the economic embargo on Cuba. There was also a movement against the economic crisis in Cuba during the Covid period. Diaz became greatly unpopular when he tried to arrest him. The current crisis has put him in more trouble. However, it is not easy to remove him. Even if he is removed, the Vice President will temporarily run the government according to the Cuban constitution. This position is currently held by Salzador Valdes Mesa. The Communist Party's national convention will then elect a new president.

'Even if Diaz-Canel is removed, nothing will change,' said Sebastian Arcos, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. 'The presidency is dead. Cuba is essentially a military-run system.'

Brian Fonseca, director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University and an international security scholar, wrote in 'AmericasQuarterly.org' under the title 'Cuban Military: An Institution Washington Cannot Ignore'

, 'For six decades, US foreign policy has failed to remove the regime in Cuba.' Despite Cuba's dire economic and political problems, the US has not been able to do so. Even now, Washington is increasing pressure. तर, क्युवाको क्रान्तिकारी सैन्य दस्ता (एफएआर) को निर्णायक भूमिकालाई नजरअन्दाज गरेको छ ।’