The American activist Manolo de los Santos, part of the international support network for the Cuban regime, said that Cuba cannot buy medicines and food from the United States due to the blockade.
“Groups from all over the planet have brought food, medications, medicine for children with cancer, things that the blockade does not allow the Cuban government to purchase freely,” Santos said, referring to the convoy he is part of that brought 3 tons of supplies to the island.
“Coming to Cuba at this moment is not only about defying the blockade or the genocidal siege against the Cuban people, but we want to put our bodies, our lives alongside those of the Cuban people and say ‘we will not accept a war policy,’” Santos added.
U.S. Imports to Cuba in 2025
The statements from this member of Convoy Nuestra América contrast with data showing that exports of, for example, pork and pork products from the United States to Cuba reached a total of $45.4 million in fiscal year 2025 (October-September), the highest level recorded "since at least fiscal year 1970."
Additionally, in 2025, the total value of U.S. agricultural and related exports to Cuba was $476.1 million in FY2025, compared to $398.9 million in FY2024.
The main component of these exports was poultry meat and poultry products (excluding eggs), with 307.5 million dollars in FY2025 and 292.0 million in FY2024.
Other categories include dairy products (31.1 million in FY2025; 19.6 million in FY2024) and non-alcoholic beverages (17.2 million in FY2025; 14.5 million in FY2024), in both cases the highest values since 1970.
Convoy Our America
The statements come after the arrival in Cuba of the first shipment of aid related to this international initiative, which arrived by air from Europe with supplies marked with flags from various countries.
The "Nuestra América" flotilla is driven by organizations, activists, and leftist political figures who advocate for the shipment of food, medicine, and other essential goods to the island amid the ongoing economic and energy crisis.
According to the organizers, the convoy is expected to transport more than 20 tons of humanitarian aid through various means—air, land, and sea—into Cuban territory.
In the coming days, the arrival of new groups and shipments is expected, including a delegation traveling from Mexico this weekend with additional supplies.
The visit of these activists has involved a series of meetings held in recent days with officials and institutions of the Cuban state, including exchanges with the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The journalist Yoani Sánchez reacted on social media this Saturday to these visits with a direct message: “We are not a theme park. Go do ideological tourism elsewhere. Here, we are suffering.”
The comment reflects a discomfort that has also been expressed by intellectuals and citizens who denounce the political instrumentalization of the Cuban crisis.
Previously, the musicologist and historian Rosa Marquetti criticized what she called the "folklorization of Cuban misery" and questioned international initiatives that, in her view, turn the country's situation into a symbolic stage for ideological debates.
Criticism has intensified following statements from some members of the Convoy, such as the former Spanish vice president Pablo Iglesias, who have downplayed the seriousness of the internal situation or attributed the crisis solely to external factors.
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