Mexican Ships Arrive in Cuba with Humanitarian Aid After U.S. Blockade

By Brooke Bihl

Two Mexican Navy ships carrying humanitarian aid have docked in Cuba after a U.S. blockade cut the island off from receiving fuel supplies. The ships reached a local port in Havana two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, deepening the island’s worsening energy crisis. According to the Mexican government, one ship carried 536 tons of food, including milk, rice, beans, sardines, meat products, cookies, canned tuna, and vegetable oil, along with personal hygiene items. The second ship carried just over 277 tons of powdered milk. President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, said in an address that more help was on the way and that as soon as the vessels returned, the country “will send more support of different kinds.”
Following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3rd, President Trump announced that no additional oil or money would go to Cuba, which is one of Venezuela’s top oil beneficiaries. After pushing Cuba to “make a deal” to resolve the impasse, President Trump accused the government in Havana of being an “extraordinary threat” and supporting “hostile actors, terrorism, and regional instability that endanger American security and foreign policy”. Since then, Cuban authorities have reported that the ongoing shortages are affecting schools, transportation, hospitals, food production, and tourism. Additionally, Air Canada has suspended all flights to the island while other airlines announced delays and layovers, which is projected to further damage the country’s once flourishing tourism economy.
Now, United Nations officials are warning of a potential humanitarian collapse within Cuba, along with President Sheinbaum, who stated, “Sanctions that affect the people are not okay. One can agree or not with the regime of the government of Cuba, but the people should never be affected.” Sheinbaum also informed the U.S. that Mexico will continue seeking diplomatic measures and peaceful dialogue in order to ensure Cuba “can receive oil and derivatives for its daily operations.” Cuban officials have released defiant statements against the U.S., but continue to express readiness to engage in diplomacy. “Cuba reaffirms its willingness to maintain a respectful and reciprocal dialogue, oriented toward tangible results, with the United States government, based on mutual interest and international law,” said the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Amid worsening economic conditions, the sustainability of Cuba’s current economic and political trajectory remains an open and pressing question.