Body
Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid from southern Mexico to Cuba landed in Havana on Saturday afternoon hours after Mexico’s navy said it had located the vessels, whose crews had been out of contact for days, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The boats, which departed from Isla Mujeres on March 20 with at least eight people aboard, lost contact after setting out amid bad weather, fueling concern in Mexico and Cuba, the report said.
In a post on X on Saturday morning, Mexico’s navy said an aircraft spotted the sailboats about 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) northwest of Havana, Cuba. After arriving on the island, convoy coordinator Adnaan Stumo said the delay was due to weather conditions and that the sailors were “never in any serious danger.”
Stumo also thanked Mexico’s navy for escorting one of the boats into Havana Bay and for making sure the sailors were safe. He said the convoy was “delighted” to begin delivering aid to Cubans in the country.
“Our sailboats encountered difficult conditions at sea, during which we lost contact with convoy coordinators and maritime authorities alike,” Stumo said, adding: “We arrive with a simple but powerful message: solidarity with the Cuban people doesn’t stop at borders. It crosses oceans.”
An advance estimate from Nuestra América Convoy, which helped organize the departure, said the arrival window for the boats in Havana should fall between Friday and Saturday, based on the speed the vessels had reported to Cuban maritime authorities, the report said. The group said the boats were led by experienced sailors.
James Schneider, communications director for Progressive International, said he was “relieved” on Saturday morning to hear the crews were safe. He said the “crews are safe, and the vessels are continuing their journey to Havana,” and that the “convoy remains on track to complete its mission — delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people.”
The boat’s arrival came as the broader humanitarian situation in Cuba drew international attention. The report said a growing number of countries and aid organizations have sent shipments of aid to the island while a U.S. fuel blockade has contributed to crippling blackouts and pushed Cuba “to the brink of collapse,” and it noted that President Donald Trump said Friday, “Cuba is next,” after remarks about military actions in Venezuela and Iran.
It also said United Nations leaders have warned of a potential “humanitarian crisis” in Cuba’s future amid mounting concerns by human rights and religious leaders as hospitals, schools and many residents go without power for long stretches.
The same day the boats were located, the report said, a delegation of religious leaders arrived in Cuba. It said the group visited hospitals and a nursing home and met with other religious leaders on the island, quoting Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, who said: “Immense suffering is being caused to the people.”