The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers authorized aid of up to €600,000 on Tuesday to help the Cuban population cope with the current humanitarian crisis caused by the oil blockade.
According to the Government, since the beginning of 2016, the severe fuel shortage caused by the oil crisis has seriously affected the arrival of supplies to the Republic of Cuba, “leading to unprecedented blackouts, severe electrical instability, and a severe shortage of basic goods, inflation, and a sustained economic decline.”
On February 25, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment sent a bilateral request for humanitarian aid to the Spanish Embassy in Havana, detailing the priority needs.
For this reason, the Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the agreement acknowledging the declaration of emergency for the procurement of humanitarian aid for the Cuban population, up to a maximum amount of €600,000. The humanitarian aid consisted of the acquisition, shipment, and distribution of 1,000 hygiene and food kits and the acquisition, shipment, and distribution of 18 photovoltaic systems with installation accessories.
The hygiene and food kits were purchased in Havana and transported by land to Santiago de Cuba, while the photovoltaic systems were purchased in Panama, flown from Panama to Havana, and then shipped by air to Santiago de Cuba on April 1, 2026. All the aid will be distributed by land during the first weeks of April 2026 in the areas designated by the Cuban authorities. The total cost of the project amounted to 319,972.07 euros, with a maximum budget of 600,000 euros.