Trump lets Russia violate Cuba oil blockade; Castro's influencer grandson

[0:00] A critical lifeline for a U.S. adversary fewer than 100 miles from the mainland. [0:04] A Russian oil tanker reportedly reaching Cuba today with much-needed relief for [0:08] a crippling energy crisis. Cuba has been dealing with blackouts for years due to gas shortages, [0:15] and now that's been made worse because of the U.S. cutting off shipments to the island after [0:20] the U.S.'s arrest of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The power grid there has totally collapsed [0:25] multiple times in just a matter of weeks. The Trump administration previously threatened [0:29] tariffs on countries that ship oil to Cuba, and moments ago the White House suggested [0:33] that is not a policy that is changing. This is not a policy change. There has not been a formal [0:40] change in sanction policy. As the president said last night, we allowed this ship to reach Cuba [0:47] in order to provide humanitarian needs to the Cuban people. These decisions are being made on [0:52] a case-by-case basis. CNN's Patrick Obman is live for us in Havana, busy texting sources as you can [0:59] see. Patrick, this obviously is a dire situation. [1:02] In Cuba, how significant is this shipment of Russian oil for the people? [1:08] For a country that is on fumes, Boris, anything is significant. But of course, [1:15] once this fuel gets to Cuba, it's got to be refined. That takes a little while, [1:19] and it will only supply enough oil that this island needs for about two weeks, [1:24] less than two weeks, energy analysts tell us. And we should point out that even though [1:28] Russia is essentially defying Donald Trump here, defying U.S. sanctions, Cuba owes Russia, [1:35] about a billion dollars. So we believe that this is just going to go on that already very large [1:40] tab. Moving forward, is Russia going to continue to send more oil? Are other countries going to [1:46] continue to send more oil? That it would essentially just be a donation to the Cuban [1:50] government, because it does not appear the Cuban government has the money to pay for the oil at [1:54] this point. Yeah, Caroline Lovett, the press secretary, said the U.S. would allow more [1:58] tankers potentially, but only on a case-by-case basis. So this perhaps is the exception rather [2:03] than the rule. [2:05] Well, you as a Cuban-American, and me as an American in Cuba, you know, he called me up and [2:28] said, come over right now. We've been in touch with him. And obviously, the economic situation [2:34] in Cuba is hitting everyone very hard. [2:38] But the people at the bottom more than the people at the top. But here you have Sandro Castro. [2:42] Anyone with the last name of Castro in this country, of course, is living better than just [2:47] about anyone else. And even he says at this point, in his own words, that he's suffering. [2:54] You have to fight like all Cubans do. It's hard, it's hard. [3:01] Even for Castro? Even for a Castro, it's hard? [3:04] It's very hard, very hard, because you suffer with thousands of difficulties. [3:08] One day you can't see the light, you can't... [3:10] Before anyone gets too concerned, Sandro Castro has an electric generator. He has a car. [3:25] He says he has no gas in the car. But he's doing much better than anyone else. But for [3:29] someone like him, with the last name of Castro, to be complaining, to criticize the country's [3:34] president, the leadership, and say that he thinks they're on the wrong path, and that [3:39] he hopes this island reaches a deal with Donald Trump. [3:43] He's been making jokes about Cuba being sold to Donald Trump, that Trump would open a Trump [3:48] tower in downtown Havana. This is the kind of thing that, for anybody but a Castro, would [3:53] get you in trouble here. It may even get him in trouble here. I was surprised and really [3:58] couldn't believe the comments as he was making them to me. But as you said, Boris, he says [4:03] that he's a capitalist, and that he thinks that more Cubans at this point are capitalists [4:08] than communists. [4:09] In this social media satire video, Donald Trump, [4:15] arrives in Cuba to buy the island. While this Trump is a fake, he's dealing with a [4:21] real member of the Castro family. Fidel Castro's grandson, Sandro Castro, an influencer and [4:27] nightclub impresario who says he has no interest in politics. The very public face of an otherwise [4:34] still mysterious family that has held power in Cuba for nearly seven decades. At an interview [4:41] in his apartment in Havana, Sandro Castro says he is a sign of the changing times on the [4:46] communist-run island. [4:47] And what would your grandfather, Fidel Castro, say that you're more capitalist than communist? [4:52] Let's see, he was a person who had his principles. He had his principles, which, of course, is [4:58] how he is. But he also respected other people. And that's my way of thinking. [5:04] But all the capitalists had to leave Cuba. [5:06] There are many people in Cuba who think capitalistically, and there are many people who want Cuba to [5:12] be a capitalism with sovereignty. [5:14] When we arrived for the interview, the neighborhood [5:16] Castro lives in is in a blackout, a near-constant condition these days with the U.S. oil blockade [5:23] and power plants breaking down. Sandro Castro's apartment is lit by an electric generator. [5:30] But from his balcony, the surrounding houses are in near-total darkness. He shows me his [5:37] one-bedroom bachelor pad, how he lacks paint for the wall, how his fridge is nearly empty [5:43] except for the Cuban beer he's always drinking. [5:46] I point out that the apartment is empty. It's empty. It's empty. It's empty. It's empty. [5:47] It's empty. It's empty. It's empty. It's empty. [5:48] His client is a foreign brand that most Cubans could never hope to afford. [5:54] His famous last name, Sandro Castro Wants People to Know, doesn't come with any special [5:58] treatment in a Cuba on the edge of economic collapse. [6:03] You have to fight like all Cubans. It's hard, it's hard. [6:08] Even for a Castro? Even for a Castro, it's hard? [6:11] It's very hard, very hard, because you suffer from thousands of difficulties. One day you [6:15] can't see the light, you can't see water, you can't get to a house, you can't get to a house, [6:17] you can't get to a house, you can't get to a house, you can't get to a house, you can't [6:18] get to a house, you can't get to a house, you can't get to a house. [6:19] It's hard, it's hard. [6:20] But being a Castro must help you. [6:23] My last name is my last name. I'm proud of my last name, of course. But I don't see [6:30] any help that you're telling me in that preamble. I'm just like an ordinary citizen. [6:35] Cuba faces unprecedented U.S. pressure to open politically and economically. [6:40] U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, has been reaching out to Cuban officials, [6:47] including members of the Castro family. [6:49] In one of his videos, Sandro Castro pretends to receive a call from Rubio, who he then hangs [6:55] up on. [6:57] Rubio has said Cuba needs new leadership, and that could include Cuban President Miguel [7:02] Díaz-Canel stepping down. [7:04] Despite Fidel and Raúl Castro's support for Díaz-Canel over many years, Sandro Castro [7:09] says he is no fan. [7:11] Do you think President Díaz-Canel is doing a good job? [7:13] I wouldn't say he's doing a good job. For me, he's not doing a good job. [7:18] He should have done a lot better. [7:19] He should have done a lot better. [7:20] He should have done a lot better. [7:21] He should have done a lot better. [7:22] Because there have been so many things, so many things that haven't been done well. [7:23] And today they are harming us. [7:24] Cuba's leaders reject attempts to blame them for the crisis, and Sandro Castro says officials [7:33] have questioned him about his often surreal and critical postings. [7:38] As well, Cuban exiles regularly attack him online, he says. [7:41] Why do you think there are people, though, that hate the Castro family so much? [7:45] It's complicated, because maybe, like I said, many Cubans would have wanted to be more capitalist. [7:47] I think that until the majority of Cubans are more capitalist, they'd be more like me, [7:51] and they'd be more like me. [7:52] The Cubans want capitalism, not communism. [7:55] And maybe that has created a difference and an hatred [7:59] that is sadly not productive. [8:01] Sandro Castro says he supports Trump's calls [8:04] to open the economy, if not his threats against the island. [8:08] At the end of his video, he takes the U.S. leader [8:10] on a tour of Havana. [8:12] Hope from at least one member of the Castro family [8:16] that a historic deal with the U.S. [8:18] and opening on the island are possible.