Spain said on Monday it will use UN channels to send humanitarian aid to Cuba, which is suffering an acute economic crisis worsened by a de facto US fuel blockade.
“Spain will provide humanitarian aid … to Cuba through the United Nations system in the form of food and essential health products,” the foreign ministry said in a statement following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Madrid.
The announcement follows the dispatch by Mexico of 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Cuba, which arrived on two Mexican navy ships late last week.
Cuba’s economic straits have worsened with moves by US President Donald Trump to economically strangle the Caribbean country.
Trump has vowed to cut off oil and fuel deliveries to Cuba, following the US military operation last month to attack Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and grab leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela had been Cuba’s main supplier of oil.
The United Nations said on Friday it was deeply alarmed by the crisis unfolding in Cuba.