A humanitarian flotilla will head towards Cuba, strangled by the US siege

BarcelonaCuba is becoming more strangled with each passing day. If the country's situation was already critical, in the last month Washington has further increased the sanctions it has been applying to the Caribbean island for decades. cutting off Venezuelan oil deliveries to Havana and threatening to impose tariffs on countries that supply crude oil to the Castro regimeThe measures implemented by the White House violate international law and the UN Charter, as the UN stated last Friday, and are causing an "economic strangulation" in the Latin American country, in the words of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. However, few countries have denounced the US strangulation of Cuba, and even fewer have moved to help. In this context, following the example of the Gaza Flotilla, several social and labor organizations from around the world have launched a new humanitarian flotilla, this time destined for Havana. At the moment, few details are known about the Latin American humanitarian mission. Under the name Our America, the organization has explained that the vessels will sail through the Caribbean over the next month, carrying food, medicine, and essential supplies to the island.

This Sunday, the various entities that are part of the initiative have organized a first assembly to decide some preliminary issues. The expedition's name is no coincidence: it's the same as that of a famous essay by Cuban writer José Martí, who denounced US imperialism at the end of the 19th century. In this case, the initiative is coordinated by the Progressive International, an alliance of left-wing forces from around the world that includes, among other activists, writers, and politicians, Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the British Labour Party; Alberto Garzón, former Spanish Minister of Consumer Affairs; Gerardo Pisarello, Member of Parliament; Karol Cariola, former Speaker of the Chilean Parliament; and Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Minister of Finance. The organizers have already admitted that, as in the case of Gaza, the amount of humanitarian aid they will take to the Caribbean island will be far from sufficient. But that's not the initiative's objective either. What the organizers intend is to highlight the consequences of the US blockade and encourage states to take the initiative and send all the humanitarian aid that Cuba needs.

Cuts and an outstretched hand

Right now, the situation on the island is critical. The population has become accustomed to constant power outages And they are living with a food shortage that worsens with each passing week. President Miguel Díaz-Canel has announced a plan of cuts to contain the situation while extending an olive branch to Trump. "There are many things we can work on together [with the US], without prejudice," Díaz-Canel stated earlier this month in a televised address in which he urged Washington to "build a civilized relationship between neighbors."

One of the hardest blows facing the Castro regime is the veto imposed by the White House on oil trade with the island. Following the aggression against Venezuela, the US has stopped sending crude oil from Caracas to Havana, cutting off the entry of a vital raw material for the Caribbean nation. Trump is convinced that the lack of oil on the island will be the final blow that brings down the Castro regime. For now, as a result of this move, Cuba has run out of jet fuel and sees one of its few sources of income—tourism—threatened..

To try to mitigate the consequences of a drop in the number of visitors and, at the same time, facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, Mexico has opened the door to establishing an air bridge with CubaMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Friday that resuming oil shipments to Cuba was contingent on a request from Havana, but assured that airlines could stop in Mexico to refuel and thus land and take off for Cuba without problems. Mexico has also indicated in recent days that it is taking "all necessary steps" to restart oil shipments to the island. The United States, in addition to halting shipments of Venezuelan oil, has threatened tariffs on countries that send crude to Cuba.

Limited international response

The Caribbean nation finds itself in this situation under sanctions that the UN Human Rights Office has reiterated violate international law and human rights. "They affect the most vulnerable, are ineffective, and do not comply with the UN Charter or international law, because sanctions must be imposed by the Security Council, not by a country," said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, on Friday. Despite the gravity of the situation, in a context of US threats against anyone who challenges its preeminence in the region, Cuba's traditional allies and countries with left-leaning governments are maintaining a low profile in condemning Washington's actions. Both Russia and China have promised material assistance to the country, but have done so half-heartedly and without concrete concrete measures.

In Latin America, after the White House demonstrated in Venezuela – with the kidnapping of Maduro – what it is capable of doing, leftist governments that could support Cuba also view it with caution. Colombia has eased tensions with the US After a year of constant clashes between Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump, Brazil and Uruguay have also so far made no significant moves, and only Mexico has sent extraordinary humanitarian aid to the Caribbean island, minimally raised its voice, and opened the door to measures, beyond humanitarian aid, that could alleviate the situation.

And as for Europe, This weekend, she breathed a little easier, seeing that she hasn't completely lost the US as a partner.He calculates every move he makes and avoids conflict with Washington whenever possible.