The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, revealed this Friday that Washington has offered the Cuban regime 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid.
However, the Secretary of State asserts that the government of Havana has refused to accept the distribution of that aid among the population, according to statements released by journalist Eric Daugherty.
"We have offered the regime 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid that, unfortunately, they have not yet agreed to distribute to help the people of Cuba," Rubio stated from Rome, where he is on a diplomatic visit.
The Secretary of State has described the Cuban government as an "incompetent regime" that "has destroyed the country and the economy."
He specified that six million dollars have already been distributed through Cáritas and the Catholic Church —the channel chosen by the U.S. to avoid the involvement of the Cuban state— and that Washington is willing to go much further.
“We provided relief for the hurricane, but we are offering more, and it is the regime that is not accepting it,” Rubio emphasized. “It is the regime that is standing in the way.”
The statements come after the Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, expressed on social media that out of the initial aid of three million dollars that the United States offered to Cuba, only «2.5 million dollars» has been realized.
Rubio's words come a day after his meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where Cuba and the expansion of humanitarian aid were the central topic of the conversation, as that aid is funneled precisely through the Catholic Church.
The direct precursor to this situation is Hurricane Melissa, which struck Cuba on October 29, 2025, as a category three, primarily devastating the eastern part of the island.
Since then, the U.S. has allocated a total of nine million dollars in humanitarian aid, benefiting around 24,000 people in eastern provinces, with shipments that arrived at the port of Santiago de Cuba in various phases.
The figure of 100 million represents a huge leap compared to the nine million already committed and is the highest publicly mentioned by Rubio regarding humanitarian aid to Cuba.
The U.S. has insisted that any aid must go directly to the people, without going through the channels of the Cuban State.
The regime, for its part, has maintained an openly hostile stance. Carlos Fernández de Cossío described the aid as a "dirty political deal," while the Cuban ambassador in Belgium labeled it as "handouts."
This week, the Cuban regime publicly downplayed the shipments, referring to them as "little bags" and accused Washington of attempting to "bring the Cuban people to their knees through hunger and despair."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba took a step further and declared that the U.S. wants to "provoke an outbreak" on the island, in response to the increasing diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration.
Rubio also announced on Thursday new sanctions against the Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), the conglomerate controlled by the Cuban military, during a week marked by a simultaneous escalation of pressure and offers for dialogue towards Havana.
"We hope to be able to do it because we do want to help the people of Cuba, who are being harmed by this incompetent regime," Rubio concluded, leaving the door open for new negotiations.
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