The bishop explained that there are many people in need and acknowledged that they will only be able to assist “the most urgent cases and the most painful situations.”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, September 11, 2026 – A shipment of humanitarian aid sent by the U.S. Government arrived this Thursday in the city of Santa Clara, with 700 food and hygiene product modules intended for disadvantaged families, the Catholic organization Caritas Cuba reported.
This shipment was received at Abel Santamaría Airport by the bishop of the Diocese of Santa Clara, Arturo González Amador, and the director of Caritas in Villa Clara province, Vanesa Hernández.
Caritas explained on social media that the Diocese of Santa Clara and Diocesan Caritas will be responsible for the direct delivery of the donation to the most disadvantaged families in the parish communities of Quemado de Güines and Rancho Veloz, with the support of volunteers and religious personnel to “effectively guarantee this process.”
González Amador explained that there are “many poor and needy people and families. We would like to reach all of them, but that is impossible.”
The bishop acknowledged that they will only be able to assist “the most urgent cases and the most painful situations,” because “this is humanitarian aid; it is not a permanent social assistance project.”
“We hope that this aid will benefit our people, that it will be carried out with harmony and serenity, and that for everyone it will be a reason to rejoice with the families who benefit from it. We ask for everyone’s cooperation and, of course, for prayers for this mission that we as a Church are undertaking,” the prelate added.
He recalled that following the impact of Hurricane Melissa on several provinces in the eastern part of the Island last October, the Trump Administration sent aid worth nine million dollars for those affected by the weather event, in the form of food, personal hygiene modules, and some household items.
This new shipment of U.S. humanitarian aid is part of a $100 million package announced last May by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Of that amount, the Catholic Church, through Caritas Cuba and with the collaboration of the U.S. organization Catholic Relief Services, will coordinate the delivery of $60 million in kits containing basic products.
The modules in this donation include rice, beans, oil, sugar, spaghetti, sardines and tuna, as well as soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, water purification tablets, sanitary pads, containers and rechargeable lamps.
The arrival of these donations has generated strong controversy between the two nations. The U.S. maintained from the first announcement of the aid following Hurricane Melissa that it would deliver it only if the Cuban Government did not have access to it. The regime said it agreed to have an intermediary manage it, but insisted that any assistance should be carried out under international cooperation standards and without political conditions.
The Cuban Government calls the U.S. attitude hypocritical, accusing it of offering this aid while hindering, through sanctions, the country’s ability to prosper on its own. It has also protested the slowness with which the shipments have been carried out, although the Church itself has indicated from Miami that the lack of fuel is one of the reasons why, once the shipments arrive at the airport, they cannot be distributed efficiently.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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