The Cuban regime announced the start of the distribution of skim milk powder donated by Mexico and Uruguay, beginning with the warehouses in the capital municipality of Cotorro, in Havana, according to a report by Canal Caribe in an official report released this weekend.
According to state television, the Las Brisas 2 Market in Cotorro was the first retail unit to receive the product. Distribution began on Saturday from the Dairy Complex of Havana, with 10 tons allocated to the municipality of Cotorro at 52 distribution points. In total, the donation amounts to approximately 760 tons of skimmed milk powder.
The beneficiaries declared by the regime are 264,000 children aged one to six, 15,000 pregnant women, and 10,000 children with chronic childhood diets, in addition to pediatric hospitals and nursery schools.
The Uruguayan ambassador in Havana, Juan Andrés Canessa Franco, reaffirmed his government's willingness to continue providing aid, including "some items related to photovoltaic parks and some spare parts for thermal power plants."
The official announcement, however, comes amid serious allegations regarding the diversion of previous humanitarian aid. In early May, the Uruguayan congresswoman of Cuban descent, Leydis Aguilera, reported in an interview with CiberCuba that the military conglomerate GAESA was receiving powdered milk from the brand Conaprole and reselling it to Cubans for dollars.
Earlier, in January, journalist Mario J. Pentón documented that bags of Conaprole powdered milk, from Uruguay, were being sold in stores controlled by GAESA for 243 dollars for a 25 kg bag, whereas the wholesale price in Uruguay was around 175 dollars.
In April, the NGO Food Monitor Program (FMP) reported that some of the food donated by Mexico surfaced in MLC stores, with field monitoring conducted in Havana, Artemisa, and Mayabeque. TV Azteca also broadcast images of beans donated by Mexico being sold in Cuban state stores in dollars.
The Cuban government systematically denied any misappropriations and stated that the donations are distributed free of charge under the control of the Ministry of Domestic Trade.
In response to the allegations, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin announced in May that Uruguay will require proof of the final destination of its donations and will ensure monitoring and accountability. Previously, the Uruguayan Undersecretary Valeria Csukasi had warned in April that the shipment of 20 tons sent in March had not yet arrived in Cuba.
The announcement comes in the context of a severe food crisis that the regime attributes to the U.S. embargo, without acknowledging the responsibility of its own administration.
The ONEI registered a 74% increase in deaths due to malnutrition between 2022 and 2023, rising from 43 to 75 fatalities. UNICEF included Cuba for the first time in its global analysis of child food poverty, noting that 9% of Cuban children only have access to two of the eight essential foods.
A survey from the Food Monitor Program in May 2025 reported that 33.9% of Cuban households had a member who went to bed hungry at least once in the preceding 30 days, a situation classified as a humanitarian emergency.
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