In a letter sent to 14ymedio, Reverend Bernard Cocker, director of the International Aid Trust, explains his growing concern with this “sad episode” and its lack of solutions.
14ymedio, Havana, July 5, 2024 — Since March, Cuban authorities have been holding in the port of Mariel a container of humanitarian aid sent from the United Kingdom by the religious organization International Aid Trust to the evangelical Church En Jesucristo Libres (Rehoboth Ministries), based in Havana. After the corresponding complaints, the Government has alleged that the shipment contains “prohibited items that could be used in a rebellion” and that the sender, the Reverend Bernard Cocker, has “some relationship” with Ukraine, a country that is an “enemy of Russia.”
In a letter sent to 14ymedio on Friday, Cocker, director of the International Aid Trust, explains his growing concern with this “sad episode” and the lack of solutions. The container, shipped on March 6 from the port of Liverpool, contains wheelchairs, clothing, mattresses, food and toys. In addition, according to religious media, the shipment also contains electric batteries, microphones and musical instruments, for a total value of more than $6,500.
“They have decided to appropriate the aid and continue to give us excuses to make the claim deadline expire,” he says. Another excuse given by the authorities is that they were not informed about the arrival of the container, something that Cocker categorically denies.
“Our people in Cuba contacted the port authorities daily about the arrival and status of the cargo”
“Our people in Cuba contacted the port authorities daily about the arrival and status of the cargo,” he said. The authorities also said that the International Aid Trust had lied to them, since the clothes were new and not donated, to which the reverend replied that they were school uniforms that had changed their logo and would therefore no longer be used.
The most serious allegation, about “prohibited items,” is also denied by Cocker, who says that his office worked for months and studied Cuban customs regulations so that none of the items sent would cause problems for the evangelical church En Jesucristo Libres. Furthermore, it is true that International Aid Trust has sent humanitarian material to Ukraine, but it also does so with India, Sierra Leone, Moldova and Transylvania.
The British Embassy and Consulate in Cuba were the first two official bodies whose mediation the International Aid Trust sought, at the beginning of June. The diplomats, rather late, replied on Friday that they were reviewing the case. Cocker trusts in the embassy’s intercession because, so far, “the authorities have not given any indication that they will respond favorably.” “I am increasingly worried,” he laments.
On June 4, Cocker sent a letter to Sir George Hollingberry, the British ambassador in Havana, informing him of the situation. He stated that the cargo held up in Mariel was made up of donations from English Christians interested in the welfare of Cuba, and that the International Aid Trust has been mediating so that containers of humanitarian goods reach poor countries like the Island since 1991.
“In 32 years of service,” Cocker explained, “the reputation of the International Aid Trust has never been tarnished by breaches of customs regulations, irregularities in accounting, or failure to comply with legal requirements.” The document also mentioned concerns that after too long a period of storage, the cargo could be looted.
“It is with great regret that I am forced to make this public statement to let everyone know that the Cuban authorities have confiscated all donations”
This is not the first time that Cuban authorities have seized containers of humanitarian aid sent by a church. In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Pastor Mardoqueo Jiménez of the Hispania Bible Church denounced the confiscation of a shipment that was intended to help – according to his calculations – 15,000 Cuban families in need after the disease.
“It is with great regret that I am forced to make this public statement to let everyone know that the Cuban authorities have confiscated all of the donations. Despite complying with all the regulations and permits required in the United States and Cuba, the cargo was not delivered to its intended recipients,” Jiménez explained at the time.
The complaint reached the European Parliament, which acknowledged that, “Despite complying with all the necessary tax and legal requirements, the shipment of humanitarian aid is currently held up at the Port of Mariel by the Cuban authorities, with no clear explanation of why.” At that time, as happened in March with the shipment from International Aid Trust, the paperwork seemed to be in order.
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