Two Cuba-Bound Aid Ships Located After Days Missing
Two vessels carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba have been found days after losing contact in the Caribbean Sea. The Mexican Navy reported that one of its aircraft spotted the ships approximately 80 nautical miles (148 km) from Havana, the Cuban capital.
A spokesman for the Nuestra (Our) America Convoy confirmed earlier that the crews were safe. Neither the spokesman nor the Mexican Navy provided an explanation for the disappearance of the vessels named Friendship and Tiger Moth.
Context of the Aid Mission
The two boats are part of a group of vessels attempting to deliver supplies to Cuba following a US-imposed oil blockade in January, which has caused a severe fuel shortage on the island. The vessels departed from Isla Mujeres, located in Mexico's easternmost state of Quintana Roo, on 20 March and were expected to arrive in Havana on Monday or Tuesday.
There are nine crew members aboard the ships, hailing from Poland, France, Cuba, and the United States.
"The vessels are continuing their journey to [the Cuban capital] Havana," the Nuestra America Convoy spokesman said.
"The convoy remains on track to complete its mission - delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people."
In a post on X, the Mexican Navy stated it maintained radio contact with the vessels and was dispatching one of its own ships to the area to provide assistance.
Humanitarian Efforts Amid US Embargo
Volunteers and non-governmental organizations have primarily led efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Cuba since the oil embargo imposed by former US President Donald Trump began. The United Nations has warned that Cuba is facing "dire" shortages of supplies. Fuel constraints and aging infrastructure have resulted in multiple nationwide blackouts, leading to the cancellation of more than 50,000 surgeries.
These challenges, combined with shortages of food and medicine, have sparked rare public protests across the country.
Earlier in the week, the Cuban government welcomed another aid shipment. A vessel named "Granma 2.0," referencing the boat used by the late Communist leader Fidel Castro during the 1950s revolution, delivered 14 tonnes of humanitarian aid including solar panels, medicines, baby formula, bicycles, and food.
US-Cuba Relations and Political Tensions
Since the US seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and cut off Venezuela's oil supply to Cuba—a key regional ally—Trump intensified pressure on Cuba. He threatened tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba, spoke of a "friendly takeover" of the island, and urged Cuba to "make a deal" or face unspecified consequences.
The Cuban government has confirmed ongoing talks with the US to resolve their differences but has emphasized that "the political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation."
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Cuba must change its system for a better future.
"You need to change the people in charge, you need to change the system that runs the country, and you need to change the economic model that it's following," Rubio told reporters in France, where he attended a G7 meeting of foreign ministers from the most advanced Western economies.
Rubio denied the existence of a naval blockade around Cuba.
"The reason why Cuba doesn't have oil and fuel is because they want it for free," Rubio said before departing Paris.
"And people don't give away oil and fuel for free on a regular basis, unless it was the Soviet Union subsidising them or Maduro subsidising them.
"And the reason why they're having blackouts is because they have equipment from the 1950s and '60s that they never maintained or kept up."
