Cuba says US blockade is blocking UN aid deliveries amid fuel shortage
Cuba says 170 containers of United Nations humanitarian aid are not reaching beneficiaries because a fuel shortage is disrupting distribution across the island. The government says the problem is linked to what it describes as a US blockade and expanded sanctions. The claim comes as parts of Havana have faced prolonged blackouts and shortages of food, water and medicine.
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Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the aid, valued at $6.3 million, was being held up because there was not enough fuel to move it. He said the blockade was affecting not only the Cuban economy but also the work of international organisations. The row also says that since January only one oil tanker, from Russia, has reached Cuba after the US cut off oil supplies from Venezuela and warned other countries against helping Havana.
The shortages are part of a wider energy and economic crisis that Cuban officials say has deepened in recent months. According to the supplied material, parts of Havana have been without power for up to 30 hours at a time in recent days. Food, running water and medicine are also said to be in increasingly short supply, adding pressure on households and public services.
The dispute matters because it links sanctions policy directly to humanitarian delivery. Cuba says restrictions are preventing aid from reaching people who need it, while the US administration has maintained pressure on the island and its leadership. The supplied material says President Donald Trump has set out a hard line on Cuba and has described it as a national security threat, while Cuban officials accuse Washington of using sanctions to intensify hardship for civilians.
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The situation also sits within a long-running confrontation between Havana and Washington over sanctions, trade and political control. The supplied rows say the US has expanded measures targeting companies that do business with the Cuban state, alongside restrictions on energy shipments. Cuba's ambassador to the United States has argued that sanctions against Cuban leaders are being used as a pretext to shape public opinion in favour of tougher action.
What remains unclear is how quickly the aid can be distributed, whether additional fuel supplies will arrive, and whether the power and supply shortages will worsen. The supplied material does not give a timeline for release of the 170 containers or detail which agencies are holding the aid. The next developments to watch are any response from the United Nations, further US sanctions moves, and whether Cuba can secure more fuel deliveries.
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