The Archdiocese of Camagüey in eastern Cuba received a second shipment of humanitarian aid from the United States on Thursday. According to the Catholic charity Cáritas Cuba, the package contained 700 food kits and 700 hygiene kits. The delivery was accepted by Archbishop Wilfredo Pino and Anaísis Illas, the coordinator of Cáritas’ Program for the Elderly in Camagüey. Cáritas volunteers will begin distributing the aid immediately, focusing on the Santa Cruz parish in the town of Santa Cruz and its surrounding communities. The organization explained that recipients were selected based on vulnerability, with priority given to those facing food insecurity and limited access to water. Additional criteria included age over 60, disability, bedridden status, pregnant or lactating women, and children under five. “Despite the great need that exists at the moment and the fact that we cannot reach everyone who requires assistance, we aim to bring some relief to the most needy within the Archdiocese,” Illas said. In the same week, another U.S. humanitarian shipment arrived for distribution in the Archdiocese of Havana. The U.S. Department of State announced in May a $100 million aid package for “direct humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people,” to be distributed in coordination with the Catholic Church and other independent, reliable humanitarian organizations. Cáritas reports that $60 million of the U.S. aid is being managed through the Church. Since the arrival of the first shipments, Cáritas volunteers have delivered aid modules to families in parishes and communities across Villa Clara, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Río, Matanzas, and Havana. The modules include staples such as rice, beans, oil, sugar, spaghetti, sardines, and tuna, as well as hygiene items like soap, cream, toothbrushes, water purification tablets, sanitary pads, containers, and rechargeable lamps. The arrival of the aid comes amid heightened tensions between Havana and Washington, the most strained period of their relations in recent decades. The shipments are part of a broader context of Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic, domestic policy failures, and U.S. sanctions that have led to shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, soaring inflation, frequent power outages, and increasing partial dollarization. Since January, Washington has applied a “maximum pressure” policy, including a petroleum blockade and secondary sanctions against key sectors of the Cuban economy, further deepening the island’s economic and energy challenges.
Article source: El Nuevo Diario | Image credit: El Nuevo Diario