Mexico (AFP) - The Mexican government reported this Sunday the shipment of more than 814 tons of food destined for the population of Cuba aboard two Navy ships that set sail from the port of Veracruz.

First modification: 02/09/2026 - 10:39

The sending of aid by the government of leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum occurs while Mexico continues negotiating an eventual delivery of oil to the island without being sanctioned by the United States, which threatened to impose tariffs on the country that supplies it with hydrocarbons.

"Humanitarian aid is being sent to the Republic of Cuba, through the Papaloapan and Holbox Island Logistics Support Vessels," said the Foreign Ministry, in a statement in which it detailed that it hopes they will reach their destination in four days.

The supplies, which were shipped early in the port of Veracruz (east), include, among others, liquid and powdered milk, meat products, cookies, beans, rice and personal hygiene items, most of them on the ship Papalopan (536 tons) and the rest on Holbox Island.

"We inform that there are still more than 1,500 tons of powdered milk and beans pending to be sent," the Foreign Ministry added in the statement.

Cuba faces a deep crisis exacerbated by the suspension of crude oil supplies from Venezuela, after the fall of that country's president, Nicolás Maduro, in an intervention by US forces on January 3.

Sales of oil and derivatives from Mexico to Cuba totaled $496 million in 2025, less than 1% of the production of the Mexican state oil company Pemex, the company itself reported last week.

These hydrocarbon shipments respond to humanitarian reasons, argued Pemex.

© 2026 AFP

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