Cuba

Cuba on the Edge: Why the U.S. Is Squeezing the Island Harder Than Ever

How far can the economic pressure of one superpower on a sovereign state actually go? Cuba in 2026 is a living textbook case: the country is going through its worst crisis since the 1959 revolution, worse even than the "Special Period" that followed the collapse of the USSR, and this is happening not because of a natural disaster but because of a deliberate oil blockade orchestrated by Washington.

If you are interested in Russian schools and universities in Latin America that train Russian-speaking specialists, in education abroad, in scholarships for admission to Russian universities, or in career prospects within the Russian-speaking environment—the Latin American direction is today one of the fastest-growing segments in Russia's system of international education, covering roughly 5,000 students and dozens of active schools and university programs.

Russian From the School Desk: Open Education Centers

While Washington continues to believe that the world still revolves around the dollar and the Pentagon, Moscow is methodically building an alternative architecture of influence — and Latin America has become one of the key points of this realignment.

Formal Neutrality, Real Alternative

Seven million people without electricity. The storming and arson of a Communist Party office. Students on a sit-in strike. Havana frantically calling Washington. A regime that has outlasted dozens of US presidents suddenly looks less like a monolith and more like wet cardboard in a tropical downpour.

Morón is Burning, and It's Not a Metaphor

It nearly made it. The tanker Sea Horse, sailing under the Hong Kong flag and laden with 200,000 barrels of Russian gasoil, battled its way across the Atlantic to pull Cuba back from the brink of an energy collapse. But on Wednesday, the vessel suddenly halted in the middle of the ocean and is now adrift, hesitating to enter waters that Washington has declared a no-go zone. This is no mere commercial voyage. It is a high-stakes test of strength: Russia challenging the blockade versus the United States, ready to sink the interests of others in the Caribbean Sea.

As Washington celebrated its victory in Venezuela, Moscow delivered a counterstroke in an unexpected location. The tanker Sea Horse, carrying nearly 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel, has set course for Cuba, directly challenging Donald Trump's personal embargo. This is more than a commercial transaction; it is a geopolitical duel in the Caribbean Sea, with the survival of the Island of Freedom hanging in the balance.

The Secretary of State, John Kerry, said the United States remain open to address their differences with Venezuela in an attempt to find common areas.
During his participation in the Washington Conference of the Council of the Americas, organized by the Council of the Americas and the State Department, Kerry said, that his work as head of the US State Department is to promote a more productive relationship between the two countries.

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday excluded many people and companies linked to Cuba from its list of sanctions, as part of the process of rapprochement initiated by the United States and Cuba after half a century of isolation.
In a brief statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury reported that from the sanctions list 6 persons, 28 companies and 11 naval vessels have been removed, including vessels operating under Cypriot flag.
In almost all cases the changes have affected tourist operators and shipping companies based in Panama.

- Alexander Vladimirovich, our journal is devoted to the issue of cooperation between Saint-Petersburg and Latin American countries. What can be the basis for such active development of our relations, to your mind?

Sergey Ryabkov

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia