Mike Hammer meets with the leadership of the Catholic Church in Cuba to coordinate the $100 million in aid from the U.S.

Mike Hammer, head of mission at the United States Embassy in Havana, met this Tuesday with the leadership of the Cuban Catholic Church to advance the logistical coordination of the $100 million in humanitarian aid that the Trump administration will allocate to the Cuban people.

The meeting, described by the Embassy as "fruitful", included Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, Archbishop of Havana, and Monsignors Arturo González Amador and Eloy Ricardo Domínguez Martínez, president and secretary general, respectively, of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba.

"Fruitful meeting with Cardinal Juan de la Caridad and Monsignors Arturo and Eloy to discuss the $100 million in additional humanitarian aid that the Trump Administration will provide to everyday Cubans across the island through the Catholic Church and other trusted entities," stated the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

The diplomatic mission confirmed that it will continue working with Cáritas Cuba to direct assistance to those in need, without the involvement of the Cuban government.

The $100 million offer was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 8 from Rome and formalized by the State Department on May 13, with the express condition that the funds be distributed exclusively through the Catholic Church, Caritas, and independent humanitarian organizations.

The Cuban regime responded ambiguously: first, denied having received a formal offer, and then stated it was "willing to listen" to the details, while Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the proposal as a "fable."

On May 21, Rubio stated that Cuba "would have accepted" the offer, although he clarified that it was not clear whether Havana had also accepted the distribution conditions.

Tuesday's meeting suggests that coordination is progressing through the ecclesiastical channel, independent of the regime's official stance.

This mechanism is not new: the Catholic Church and Cáritas Cuba previously served as a channel after Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, when the U.S. first donated three million dollars and later completed up to $6 million in humanitarian assistance distributed across the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Bayamo/Granma, and Guantánamo-Baracoa.

As of May 8, 2026, Cáritas had executed 82% of that initial donation, providing assistance to 8,800 families, prioritizing the elderly, single mothers, and people with disabilities.

The meeting this Tuesday marks the beginning of the coordination phase to scale that mechanism to a figure 16 times greater, which would represent the largest U.S. humanitarian aid operation channeled through the Catholic Church in Cuba.