Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday, 12 May that Mexico is dispatching its fifth humanitarian aid ship to Cuba, citing the growing shortages faced by the Cuban people amid tightening US sanctions. The announcement came during Sheinbaum's morning press conference in Mexico City, where she also reiterated Mexico's longstanding opposition to the US economic blockade against Cuba.

What Mexico Is Sending

"We are going to continue sending humanitarian aid. In fact, a ship carrying humanitarian aid is leaving for Cuba today. Mexico will always be fraternal and in solidarity with all nations of the world, and particularly with Cuba," Sheinbaum said. The aid package does not include oil, as Russia has been supplying Cuba with that resource. Mexico's focus, according to Sheinbaum, is on providing other essential items to alleviate the scarcity of basic goods.

Escalating US Sanctions on Cuba

The humanitarian dispatch comes amid a fresh wave of US pressure on Havana. In recent weeks, the US government issued two executive orders to intensify sanctions against Cuba, blocking the island's access to fuel and penalising several Cuban companies. The US economic and commercial blockade against Cuba has been in place since 1962.

Cuba Rejects US Claims of Aid Offer

The aid announcement also follows a sharp diplomatic exchange over an alleged US offer of $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Friday that Washington had provided $6 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba through Caritas, a Catholic Church agency, and had offered the Cuban government $100 million, which it reportedly refused to distribute.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the claim on social media platform X, saying Rubio had fabricated the offer to justify Washington's actions against Cuba. "Where have they gone? What would he have used them for?" Rodriguez wrote, dismissing the assertion. Rodriguez further argued that what is publicly known is "the billions of dollars that the US economic warfare is costing Cuba," adding that Rubio "is also well aware of the ruthless human damage caused by that warfare and the restrictions in terms of revenues, technologies, food, fuel and medicines it imposes."

Broader Context

Mexico's repeated humanitarian shipments to Cuba underscore the deepening divide between Latin American nations and Washington over Cuba policy. This is the fifth such ship Mexico has sent, reflecting a consistent posture from the Sheinbaum administration of solidarity with Havana. The episode also highlights the competing narratives around Cuba's humanitarian crisis — with the US attributing suffering to the Cuban government's governance failures, and Cuba and its allies pointing squarely at the decades-long blockade. With US sanctions showing no sign of easing, further humanitarian shipments from Mexico and other regional partners appear likely.