Two Humanitarian Aid Boats Missing En Route to Cuba from Mexico

Two sailboats, Friendship and Tigger Moth, carrying nine crew members from Poland, France, Cuba and the US disappeared after departing Isla Mujeres, Mexico on March 20, 2025, bound for Havana with humanitarian aid. Mexico deployed naval search teams and military aircraft while coordinating with international rescue centers from four countries. The vessels are part of a volunteer-led effort to deliver supplies to Cuba following a US oil blockade imposed in January 2025 that has caused chronic fuel shortages, cancelled over 50,000 surgeries, triggered nationwide blackouts, and sparked rare street protests. Another boat, Granma 2.0, successfully delivered 14 tonnes of aid including solar panels, medicines and food earlier in the week. The crisis intensified after the US seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, cutting off oil supplies from Cuba's regional ally, while Trump has threatened tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba and discussed a potential takeover of the island.

Search and rescue operation for missing aid vessels

• ▪The Friendship and Tigger Moth were expected to arrive in Havana on Tuesday or Wednesday but there had been no communication from them and no confirmation of their arrival
• ▪Mexico deployed naval search teams and military aircraft to locate the Friendship and Tigger Moth
• ▪The Friendship and Tigger Moth were carrying at least nine crew members from Poland, France, Cuba and the US
• ▪The sailboats Friendship and Tigger Moth departed Isla Mujeres, Mexico on 20 March 2025

Humanitarian aid efforts to Cuba amid US embargo

• ▪Volunteers and NGOs have largely spearheaded efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Cuba since Donald Trump's oil embargo began
• ▪A boat dubbed Granma 2.0 delivered 14 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Cuba earlier in the week
• ▪The Granma 2.0 delivered solar panels, medicines, baby formula, bicycles and food to Cuba
• ▪The Friendship and Tigger Moth were carrying humanitarian supplies to Cuba
• ▪Several vessels have sought to carry supplies to Cuba since the US imposed an oil blockade in January 2025

Cuba's crisis and US-Cuba tensions under Trump administration

• ▪More than 50,000 surgeries were cancelled in Cuba due to fuel supply constraints and aging infrastructure
• ▪Cuban deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio stated that the political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation
• ▪The US seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2025
• ▪Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba
• ▪The US oil blockade on Cuba imposed in January 2025 prompted a chronic fuel shortage on the island
• ▪The Cuban government confirmed it was in talks with the US to resolve their differences

Perspective of Humanitarian aid volunteers and NGOs

• ▪Volunteers and NGOs view their humanitarian aid deliveries to Cuba as filling gaps created by the US oil embargo imposed in January 2025

Perspective of Cuban government

• ▪Cuba views its political system as non-negotiable despite engaging in talks with the United States to resolve differences