Russia again casts a long shadow over Cuba

As early as March, Rosneft had already committed to deliver 250,000 tons of oil and diesel fuel to Cuba. Observers suspect that the business is part of a so-called triangle deal. In the last two years, Rosneft lent PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas company, an estimated $5 billion (4.3 billion euros). Any oil supplied to Cuba by PDVSA could thus go toward settling this debt — thus completing the triangle. The scenario is reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s, when the Soviet Union was the main guarantor of Cuba's economic — and hence its political — survival. More…