A flotilla carrying humanitarian aid arrived in Havana on Tuesday morning (24 March) amid a U.S. oil blockade that has dealt a major blow to the island's already ailing energy infrastructure.
Cubans gathered to welcome activists and flotilla members aboard the Maguro as it reached the Malecon promenade in the capital.
The vessel set sail from the Mexican port of Progreso, Yucatan, on Friday (20 March), bound for Cuba, as part of a growing international effort to support the island amid a severe energy and economic crisis.
Maguro is part of the ‘Nuestra America’ (Our America) Convoy, an international humanitarian movement organised to deliver aid to Cuba. The flotilla consists of three ships, 30 tons of humanitarian aid and 40 people.
Aid is also expected to arrive by plane, including solar panels, medical supplies and non-perishable food collected by activists in Mexico.
U.S. President Donald Trump began taking measures to block oil from reaching the Caribbean island after Washington deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. Venezuela had previously provided oil to its close ally on favourable terms.
Since then, Trump has cut off Venezuelan exports to Cuba and threatened other countries with punitive tariffs if they sell oil to the island.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Navy vessel Huasteco departed from the port of Veracruz on Monday (March 23) carrying a cargo of humanitarian aid bound for Cuba, as Mexico stepped up its support for the island amid a deepening energy and economic crisis.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly expressed her government's solidarity with the Cuban people and pledged to maintain humanitarian assistance.
She has also indicated that Mexico was exploring ways to supply fuel to Cuba without exposing the country to negative consequences, at a time when President Trump has threatened punitive tariffs against countries that sell oil to the island.
Cuba has long blamed the U.S. trade embargo for economic failures including its obsolete power grid, while Washington has attributed the shortfalls to Cuba's Soviet-style command economy.
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