Help arrives, but the pressure does not let up
The images on state television are clear: packages with rice, beans, sardines and powdered milk being unloaded in warehouses in Havana. They are the first 43 tons of humanitarian aid that Mexico sent after the latest tightening of the US energy fence.
“Families with children from zero to 13 years old, people over 65, pregnant women and vulnerable groups will have priority,” said the Ministry of Domestic Trade.
Two Mexican Navy ships docked last week in the capital’s port. One brought 536 tons of basic products; the other, 277 tons of powdered milk. And according to the Aztec Foreign Ministry, there are more than 1,500 tons pending shipment.
A context that hurts
This operation comes at a brutal time. Just a month ago, an executive order from Donald Trump threatened sanctions on any country that sells oil to the island. The blow was direct to the energy supply.
The crisis had already been simmering for a year, but now it is accelerating: shortened working hours, limited transportation, prolonged blackouts. Cuba lost a crucial ally in Venezuela after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and Washington is tightening the screws to force a political change.
Mexican aid is an immediate lifeline for the most fragile families. But seen from a historical perspective, it is just a patch on a wound that remains open. The question that remains is how much longer the common population can resist while geopolitics plays its cards.
