CARICOM Leaders Say Path Is Clear to Send Long-Delayed Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Roughly a year after Caribbean governments first vowed to assemble relief for cash-strapped Cuba, international sanctions and other obstacles kept that commitment from moving forward. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley now says those barriers have been lifted, leaving the region better placed to honour the pledge.

Havana and the 15-nation CARICOM bloc have maintained close diplomatic ties since 1972. Over the decades, that relationship has expanded beyond formal recognition to include two-way trade and the deployment of thousands of Cuban doctors, nurses and other medical staff to shore up struggling health systems across member states.

Officials have not set a firm date for when the financial or material assistance will reach Cuba. Recent regional statements indicate the package is intended to cover baby formula, non-perishable foods such as beans, wheat flour, rice and canned goods, along with hardware including solar power units, batteries and water tanks. Mexican authorities are expected to support the joint effort.

Mottley’s update came as CARICOM concluded its leaders’ summit in St. Lucia — the same week the bloc dispatched 88 containers of food, 300 large plastic water tanks and other supplies to earthquake-stricken Venezuela, where more than 3,000 people have died and many thousands remain missing. Trinidad has also indicated it is preparing a separate shipment for the disaster zone.

The prime minister described one attempt to transfer funds to buy baby formula and other essentials that was blocked when United States sanctions led the financial system to reject the transactions and return the money. Governments have since had to pursue indirect routes through partners willing to help move humanitarian goods into Cuba.

“When you live in a neighborhood, what happens in the neighborhood affects everyone, and the neighborhood stretches from Florida to Guyana and Suriname in the south,” Mottley stated.

“We recognize that this is always going to be a complicated and complex issue, as was reflected in the United Nations debate on Tuesday, but we want to remain focused on the humanitarian efforts and we want to remain focused on the dialogue that should continue to take place.”

Speaking to reporters as the summit closed, she added: “The money that was sent back because of the sanctions, it is almost impossible to be able to deliver it, and we’ve had to go through circuitous routes with respect to dealing with countries who are willing to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to Cuba. Nobody is going to release the milk without payment, and because we are shipping it to Cuba, therefore the process goes through enhanced due diligence.”

“There is a humanitarian crisis, and you cannot continue to ignore that reality. Humanitarian relief comes above everything else, because none of us can give back life to anybody.”