T&T to send aid to Cuba independently

2026-03-26 - 12:25

AKASH SAMAROO Lead Editor – Politics Trinidad and Tobago will provide humanitarian aid to Cuba but will do so independently rather than as part of Caricom’s coordinated relief effort. Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers told Guardian Media that when this country sent relief items to Jamaica in the aftermath of the destructive Hurricane Melissa, it also formed a relationship with reputable non-governmental organisations in Cuba. Sobers said T&T will therefore deal directly with those NGOs. “We liaised with some organisations in Cuba that are well known to distribute items to impoverished persons and people in need in Cuba and whatnot. And as the organisation that we would have liaised with during that time, we’ve continued to have a good relationship with those organisations. And then moving forward with respect to the relief or sending any type of relief items to the Cuban people. Now, we will liaise with those organisations,” Sobers said. On March 24, Caricom issued a statement saying that the regional bloc is coordinating relief items for Cuba, which is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis brought on by the United States-enforced blockade. The Caricom Secretariat is coordinating the procurement and shipment of essential supplies, including food, medical items and solar equipment, to Cuba on behalf of member states. Mexico is supporting the effort by sourcing the supplies and providing free transport from its ports to Cuba. Sobers told Guardian Media: “We’re not knocking Caricom for doing their own thing, their business. But we’re just saying that we have a system that has been tested already. Logistically, it has worked, and we will just continue with that.” The Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister said last week T&T reached out to those organisations to ascertain what relief items they will need. “And once we get back that request, we will then start to put things in place like we did before.” Asked if there are concerns that any relief items for the Cuban people will be affected by the blockade, Sobers said: “They have an arrangement that allows them to accept items and distribute them accordingly. I suspect they have a good relationship with the U.S. and that they are seen to be a bona fide organisation where whatever relief is sent to them would in fact be given to the Cuban people.” Sobers said this was not communicated to Caricom because the regional body did not ask for this country’s position on the matter. The U.S. blockade on Cuba, first formalised by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, has recently been intensified by a January 2026 executive order from President Trump targeting oil suppliers with steep tariffs. These measures have caused a total collapse of the island’s power grid, critical fuel shortages that have suspended over 96,000 surgeries, and severe disruptions to food and water distribution.