Sanctioned Russian tanker docks in Cuba after US allows passage despite energy blockade

HAVANA (AP) — A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island.

The administration of President Donald Trump had allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing U.S. energy blockade.

Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered the ship’s arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine.

“Our gratitude to the Government and People of Russia for all the support we are receiving. A valuable shipment that arrives amid the complex energy situation we are facing,” de la O Levy wrote on X.

Cuba produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

“The arrival of an oil tanker to a country has likely never generated so much news as the Russian one to Cuba,” wrote Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío on X. “It’s a sign of the brutal siege Cubans endure with heroism and stoicism. It’s a demonstration of the criminal cruelty of imperialism against a nation that refuses to be dominated.”

The vessel's arrival was watched by some fishermen as it docked under the early morning sun.

“We’ve been waiting for the ship to arrive because it’s been some time since any ship entered,” said 50-year-old Armando Ramirez. “And it is needed here for the people, for Cuba.”

Others celebrating the arrival included Matanzas resident Camilo Galves, who watched the ship dock from his home.

“This is undoubtedly a great relief for the Cuban people and a moment of great joy for us amid so many hardships we are experiencing,” he said. “It’s yet another sign that we are not alone in the world.”

Cuba used to receive most of its oil from Venezuela, but those shipments were halted ever since the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested its leader in early January.

Since then, Mexico also has halted its oil shipments to Cuba as Trump threatened in late January to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island.

On Sunday night, Trump had said he had “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island,

“We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need … they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington.

“Cuba’s finished,” he added. “They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.”

The vessel is sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine.

On Monday, when asked about Trump’s decision to allow the Russian oil tanker and not ones from other countries, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “a decision that will continue to be made on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian reasons or otherwise,” adding that “there’s been no firm change in our sanctions policy.”

Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been pressuring for major changes in Cuba's policies and governance, all while both sides acknowledged talks as the island's economic and energetic crises deepen.

Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, right, docks at an oil terminal in Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Journalists do a standup in front of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked in Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People play soccer in an abandoned swimming pool across from a tanker terminal along the port of Matanzas, Cuba, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrives in Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin approaches Matanzas in Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, left, passes the Cuban vessel Vilma as it approaches Matanzas in Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodki, right, approaches Matanzas, Cuba, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods’ eyes were bloodshot and glassy, his pupils dilated and he had hydrocodone pills in his pocket when interviewed at the scene of his car crash last week in Florida, according to a sheriff’s office report released Tuesday.

Woods’ movements were slow and lethargic, he was sweating as he talked to deputies and told them he had taken prescription medication earlier in the morning, according to the incident report released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies found two white pills, which were identified as the opioid hydrocodone used to treat pain, in his pocket, the report said.

When asked by a deputy if he took any prescription medications, Woods said, “I take a few.”

Woods told deputies he had been looking at his phone and fiddling with the radio before he clipped a truck in front of him, the report said.

The golfer was traveling at high speeds on a beachside, residential road on Jupiter Island when his Land Rover clipped the truck and rolled onto its side, according to the sheriff's office, which noted Woods showed signs of impairment.

The truck had $5,000 in damage, according to the sheriff's report.

The truck driver and another person helped Woods out of his vehicle, with the golfer needing to climb out from the passenger side. Neither Woods nor the truck driver were injured.

During a field sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping and that he had a compression sock over his right knee. The golfer explained he had undergone seven back surgeries and over 20 leg operations and that his ankle seizes up while walking. Woods, who was hiccupping during the questioning, continuously moved his head during one of the sobriety tests and deputies had to instruct him several times to keep his head straight, the report said.

“Based on my observations of Woods, how he performed the exercises and based on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods normal faculties were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” the deputy wrote after the tests.

Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but he refused a urine test, authorities said. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours later.

Woods’ agent at Excel Sports, Mark Steinberg, has not responded to multiple messages seeking comment. No one from Woods’ camp or the PGA Tour -- he is on the board and is chairman of the committee reshaping the competition model -- has commented since his arrest.

Woods, who has been involved in other crashes over the years, is charged with driving under the influence, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. He is scheduled for arraignment April 23. Online court records do not list an attorney for him.

Under a change to Florida law last year, refusing a law enforcement officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor, even for a first offense.

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

This handout photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Tiger Woods, in Stuart, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Tiger Woods leaves the Martin County Sheriff's Office jail facility following his involvement in a car crash where he was arrested on a DUI charge on Friday, March 27, 2026 (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows skid marks near the overturned vehicle in a rollover crash which involved Tiger Woods in Jupiter Island, Fla., on Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., on Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Oteri)