US Sends First Flight Under New $100m Cuba Aid Package

The United States sent a humanitarian flight to Cuba on Tuesday, the first delivery under a new $100m aid package, according to the State Department.

The shipment followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement in May of an unprecedented assistance program intended to support the Cuban people without benefiting the communist government.

The aid comes as Washington continues to impose strict financial sanctions on Havana and has blocked most oil shipments to the island.

Cuban officials, who have long blamed the United States for power outages and shortages, were initially wary of the offer but appear to have agreed to accept it following talks with Trump administration officials.

The first shipment included food and hygiene kits for up to 700 families and is being distributed by Catholic Relief Services. It follows $9m in earlier US assistance delivered through the Catholic Church.

“Building on the success of the previous program, the direct delivery of humanitarian commodities by local parish representatives in the island will ensure critical U.S. assistance reaches everyday Cubans in need, without any opportunity for regime diversion or theft”, the State Department said.

(Reuters, Max)