Spain to Distribute Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid U.S. Embargo

The Spanish government said on Monday that it will put into action a humanitarian aid effort destined for Cuba as the United States ramps up pressure on the regime in Havana.

The announcement follows Spanish-speaking governments in Latin America that are mounting a concerted humanitarian supply line for the Caribbean island, which is enduring its most grueling economic crisis in recent memory.

Amid widespread power outages, an aging infrastructure, an absence of basic state services, and a severe fuel shortage grinding the entire government to a halt, Cubans are now relying on other nations to distribute essential food sources and medical goods as the United States restricts all outside oil shipments from Cuba’s foreign partners, in an effort to force the government to enact comprehensive political and economic reform and to turn its back on 65 years of repressive socialism.

Last week, two Mexican naval vessels docked in Cuba, delivering about 800 tonnes of humanitarian supplies to the island, as Chile announced cooperation towards the effort, too.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry also committed to a Cuban aid effort, stating on Monday, “Spain will provide humanitarian aid … to Cuba through the United Nations system in the form of food and essential health products.”

The United Nations warned of a worsening economic situation on the island of Cuba, stating on Friday that the international body was alarmed by the crisis taking place in Cuba.

U.S. President Donald Trump, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, stated that both he and Marco Rubio were in discussions with the Cuban government in Havana, stating:

“Cuba is, right now, a failed nation. We are talking with Cuba right now. I have Marco Rubio talking with Cuba right now, and they definitely should reach an agreement because it is a real humanitarian threat.”

The Cuban government last week shuttered several key industry operations, resulting from the worsening energy crisis, as the U.S. tightens its grip around the island, threatening to impose tariffs on foreign countries supplying the Cuban government with oil products.

The administration in Washington is also targeting other key revenue sources for the Cuban government, including foreign remittances and cracking down on Latin American participation in Cuba’s controversial ‘Doctors-for-Hire’ program.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the U.S. actions regarding the island’s oil embargo, criticizing U.S. foreign policy as “violations of peace, security, and international law and the increasing hostility of the United States against Cuba.”