2 Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid dock in Cuba as US blockade sparks energy crisis

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HAVANA (AP) — Two Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian assistance docked successful Cuba connected Thursday arsenic a U.S. blockade deepens the island’s vigor crisis.

The ships arrived 2 weeks aft U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs connected immoderate state selling oregon providing lipid to Cuba, prompting the land to ration vigor successful caller days.

The Mexican authorities said that 1 vessel carried immoderate 536 tons of nutrient including milk, rice, beans, sardines, nutrient products, cookies, canned tuna, and rootlike oil, arsenic good arsenic idiosyncratic hygiene items. The 2nd vessel carried conscionable implicit 277 tons of powdered milk.

Yohandri Espinosa, a 34-year-old engineer, observed the ships get with his girl and took pictures.

“This is incredibly important assistance for the Cuban radical astatine this moment,” helium said. “We are surviving done hard times of large request and uncertainty, and we don’t cognize however agelong we volition beryllium similar this.”

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called Trump’s threats an “energy blockade” and said it affects transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and the accumulation of food.

Cuban aviation officials warned airlines earlier this week that determination isn’t capable substance for airplanes to refuel connected the island. On Monday, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Cuba, portion different airlines announced delays and layovers successful the Dominican Republic earlier flights continued to Havana. The cuts successful substance are expected to beryllium different stroke to Cuba’s erstwhile thriving tourism economy.

“Sometimes you deliberation that things are going to improve, but it’s not similar that,” said Javier González, a Cuban who sat connected Havana’s famed seawall watching the Mexican ships arrive. “We can’t enactment however we are due to the fact that it’s excessively hard. We’ll person to hold and see.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that arsenic soon arsenic the ships return, “we volition nonstop much enactment of antithetic kinds.” Her medication noted that it inactive plans to nonstop 1,500 tons of beans and powdered milk.

Sheinbaum has antecedently said the humanitarian assistance would beryllium sent portion diplomatic maneuvering to resume lipid supplies is underway. She says Mexico has told the United States it seeks to beforehand peaceful dialog and guarantee Cuba “can person lipid and its derivatives for its regular operations.”

Before Trump’s announcement, the state-owned lipid institution Petróleos Mexicanos, Pemex, had already suspended crude lipid shipments to Cuba successful January, though it has not clarified the reasons down that decision.

Meanwhile, speaking with journalists connected Thursday, the Russian statesmanlike spokesperson declined to remark connected whether Russia mightiness nonstop lipid supplies to Cuba.

“It’s intolerable to sermon these issues publically close present for evident reasons,” statesmanlike spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. He besides stressed said that Moscow did not privation an escalation with the United States implicit the situation: “Probably, we are inactive counting connected constructive dialogue."

Cuba relied heavy connected lipid shipments from Venezuela that were halted erstwhile the U.S. attacked the South American state successful aboriginal January and arrested its leader.

Cuba has besides reduced slope hours and suspended taste events, portion substance organisation companies person said that income lone volition beryllium made successful dollars and constricted to 20 liters (5.28 gallons) per user.

In summation to terrible blackouts, Cuban officials accidental that U.S. sanctions, which accrued nether Trump’s 2nd term, outgo the state much than $7.5 cardinal betwixt March 2024 and February 2025.

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Associated Press reporters Katie Marie Davies successful Manchester, England and Fabiola Sánchez successful Mexico City contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s sum of Latin America and the Caribbean astatine https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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