Two Mexican Navy ships carrying humanitarian aid docked in Cuba on Thursday, arriving as President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs tied to oil supplies have worsened the island’s energy crisis, according to Cuban officials and the Mexican government. The deliveries reached Havana after Trump’s warning prompted Cuba to ration energy in recent days, and they landed against a backdrop of strained transportation and sharply limited fuel availability.
Mexican officials said the aid was transported in two separate navy shipments: one ship carried about 536 tons of food and personal hygiene items, including milk, rice, beans, sardines, meat products, cookies, canned tuna and vegetable oil. The second ship carried just over 277 tons of powdered milk, with the government saying the items were meant to address shortages facing civilians.
A 34-year-old engineer, Yohandri Espinosa, watched the ships arrive with his daughter and photographed the docking. He said the aid “is incredibly important aid for the Cuban people at this moment,” adding, “We are living through difficult times of great need and uncertainty, and we don’t know how long we will be like this.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said Trump’s threats amount to an “energy blockade” affecting transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and food production. Cuban aviation officials warned airlines earlier this week that there is not enough fuel for airplanes to refuel on the island, and carriers responded by suspending or rerouting flights; Air Canada said it was suspending flights to Cuba, and other airlines announced delays and layovers in the Dominican Republic before continuing to Havana.
The disruptions are expected to further strain Cuba’s once-thriving tourism industry. “Sometimes you think that things are going to improve, but it’s not like that,” said Javier González, a Cuban man who watched from Havana’s seawall as the Mexican ships arrived. He said, “We can’t stay how we are because it’s too hard. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that once the ships return, “we will send more support of different kinds.” Her administration noted that it still plans to send 1,500 tons of beans and powdered milk, and Sheinbaum previously said the humanitarian aid would be delivered while diplomatic maneuvering to resume oil supplies is underway, with Mexico saying it aims to encourage peaceful dialogue and ensure Cuba “can receive oil and its derivatives for its daily operations.”
Before Trump’s threats, Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex had already suspended crude oil shipments to Cuba in January. Cuban officials have also pointed to other disruptions, including the halt of oil shipments from Venezuela after the United States attacked that country in early January and arrested its leader. Cuba, they say, has faced severe blackouts and has reduced bank hours and suspended cultural events, while fuel distribution companies have said sales would be made only in dollars and limited to 20 liters per user.
The crisis has also carried significant economic costs, with Cuban officials saying U.S. sanctions—described as having increased under Trump’s second term—cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025. Meanwhile, speaking with journalists Thursday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say whether Russia might send oil supplies to Cuba, saying it was “impossible to discuss these issues publicly right now for obvious reasons,” and stressing that Moscow did not want escalation with the United States, adding, “Probably, we are still counting on constructive dialogue.”