New aid shipment from Mexico arrives in Cuba (original) (raw)

This file photo shows a tanker ship at the Supertanker Base in the Industrial Zone of the port of Matanzas, Cuba, on March 30, 2026. US President Donald Trump said on March 29, 2026, that Moscow could send oil to Cuba despite Washington's de facto fuel blockade, as a Russian tanker was expected to deliver some much-needed crude to the crisis-hit island. (Photo by AFP)

June 7, 2026

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — A new shipment of humanitarian aid from Mexico arrived in Cuba on Sunday, as the communist-led island faces a mounting crisis amid the US blockade on oil imports.

The shipment — the sixth from Mexico since February — arrived in Havana’s harbor Sunday morning, AFP journalists witnessed.

The United States launched its de facto fuel blockade in late January, deepening the island’s energy crisis and pummelling its already struggling economy.

Only one Russian oil tanker has been authorised to dock since then, with fuel shortages leading to power outages of up to 22 hours a day.

The United Nations representative on the island warned Thursday that the humanitarian emergency, coupled with the onset of the Caribbean hurricane season, made for an “explosive cocktail.”

While the United States has had an embargo on Cuba for decades, US President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure on the country and openly muses about taking it over.

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