Mexican ship arrives at Cuban port with tons of rice, beans, and milk

The cargo ship Asian Katra, arriving from Mexico, arrived this Monday at the port of Havana with 1,700 tons of supplies including rice, beans, and milk, as confirmed by the Mexican ambassador to Cuba to the official Cuban press.

The shipment, which also includes assistance from the people of Uruguay coordinated logistically with Mexico, was received by the Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López, who expressed "deep gratitude to each of the crew members and authorities who made this noble mission possible."

Cubavisión Internacional classifies this arrival as the eighth shipment from the government and civil associations of Mexico, although the agency AFP counts it as the fifth, possibly due to differences in counting methods.

The Asian Katra set sail from Asipona Pajaritos, in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and arrives amid a severe food and energy crisis hitting Cuba, where blackouts last up to 24 hours daily in over 55% of the territory.

The participation of Uruguay was announced in late March 2026, when Chancellor Mario Lubetkin described the gesture as "a sign of solidarity." The Uruguayan aid consists of about 20 tons of powdered milk shipped from Mexican territory.

The shipment of the Asian Katra was announced on May 11 by President Claudia Sheinbaum during her morning conference, where she reiterated: "We will continue to send humanitarian aid to a people in need."

Since February 2026, Mexico has accumulated over 3,125 tons of humanitarian aid sent to Cuba, including food, medicine, hygiene products, and solar panels.

The first shipment departed on February 8 with two ships from the Mexican Navy from Veracruz and arrived in Havana on February 28 with more than 1,193 tons. Subsequent shipments took place in March, when two more ships from the Navy arrived in Havana with food, hygiene products, and medical supplies.

Mexico suspended its oil shipments to Cuba on January 27, 2026, following the signing of Executive Order 14380 by Trump, which imposed secondary sanctions on countries supplying crude oil to the island. Sheinbaum ruled out resuming them, noting that Cuba "is receiving oil from Russia", and redirected support towards non-oil humanitarian aid.

The food crisis in Cuba is severe: Minister López had previously reported that more than 117,000 children were not receiving their daily milk ration due to logistical and energy issues, and about 96,000 patients are waiting for surgery on the island.

The only significant energy relief came from Russia in March, when the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked in Matanzas with 100,000 metric tons of donated crude oil, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov admitted in April that "this aid will likely last a couple of months," with no new shipments confirmed to date.