2 humanitarian aid boats en route to Cuba missing, says Mexico

2026-03-27 - 01:01

Volunteers in Mexico last week loaded boats with rice, baby wipes, beans, baby formula, medicine and other supplies as part of the ‘Nuestra America Convoy’. (EPA Images pic) MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s navy said on Thursday it had activated a search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean to locate two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba after the vessels failed to arrive in Havana as scheduled. In a statement, the navy said the two boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, on March 20 bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board. The vessels had been expected to arrive between March 24 and 25, but there had been no communication from them and no confirmation of their arrival, the navy said. The two missing boats are part of a broader grassroots aid effort for energy-strapped Cuba, which has been suffering prolonged power outages and a deepening economic crisis. A separate vessel from the convoy arrived in Havana on Tuesday. Volunteers in Mexico last week loaded boats with rice, baby wipes, beans, baby formula, medicine and other supplies as part of the “Nuestra America Convoy”, a non-government initiative seeking to deliver goods to the island. Representatives for the convoy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mexico also established contact with maritime rescue coordination centers in Poland, France, Cuba and the US, as well as diplomatic representatives of the countries of origin of those on board, the navy said.