Díaz-Canel Says Cuba Would Welcome U.S. Humanitarian Aid Without Obstacles or Ingratitude

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez stated on Thursday that the Cuban government is prepared to accept humanitarian assistance offered by the United States, while insisting that the true solution to the country’s ongoing crisis lies in ending the economic embargo imposed on the island.

“Our country’s experience in receiving international aid, including from the United States, has been broad and constructive. Any donor can attest to that reality,” Díaz-Canel said in a message posted on the social media platform X.

The Cuban leader affirmed that if the U.S. government is genuinely willing to provide assistance in the amounts it has announced and in accordance with internationally recognized humanitarian aid practices, Cuba would not respond with obstacles or ingratitude.

“If there is truly a willingness on the part of the U.S. government to provide aid in the amounts it announces and in full accordance with universally recognized humanitarian aid practices, it will encounter neither obstacles nor ingratitude from Cuba, however inconsistent and paradoxical such an offer may be toward a people that the U.S. government itself systematically and relentlessly subjects to collective punishment,” he stated.

Díaz-Canel identified fuel, food, and medicine as the country’s most urgent priorities amid Cuba’s deepening energy and economic crisis, which Cuban authorities attribute to what they describe as an intensified energy blockade and escalating coercive measures imposed by Washington.

“The priorities are more than evident: fuel, food, and medicine,” the president wrote.

He further argued that the humanitarian situation affecting the island could be eased more effectively and rapidly through the lifting or relaxation of the embargo.

“The damage could be alleviated more easily and swiftly with the lifting or easing of the blockade,” Díaz-Canel said, adding that the current humanitarian difficulties are “coldly calculated and induced.”

The Cuban president also highlighted the government’s longstanding cooperation with the Catholic Church.

“Our experience working with the Catholic Church has been rich and productive,” he concluded.