Aid flotilla vessel arrives in Cuba amid US-driven energy crisis

Activists say that aid delivery is small ‘gesture of solidarity’ meant to draw attention to US energy blockade.The first boat in a humanitarian aid flotilla has arrived in Cuba to support the island amid a worsening US energy blockade that is deepening its economic and energy crises.A boat carrying about 30 people, including food, medicine, solar panels, and bicycles, arrived in Havana, the capital city, on Tuesday, part of the “Nuestra America” or “Our America” convoy that set out from Mexico last week.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Emerging from latest blackout, Cuba says ready for any potential US attacklist 2 of 3Cuba ‘categorically’ rejects prospect of removing Diaz-Canel in US talkslist 3 of 3‘Can’t live like this’: Cuba hit by second nationwide blackout in a weekend of list“This type of economic warfare shouldn’t exist, this attitude of a pirate state that doesn’t respect international law,” activist Thiago Avila said of the US blockade, which Cuban authorities say has resulted in a nearly total ban on petroleum imports over the last three months.“These ships are a drop in an ocean of need,” Avila said. “At the same time, it’s a gesture of solidarity.”The convoy comes as US President Donald Trump and his allies continue to express their desire for regime change in Cuba, using greater energy restrictions to further degrade the Cuban economy. Trump has stated that he could “take” Cuba and select a government more amenable to US demands.The vessel on Tuesday — called the “Granma 2.0” in reference to the boat that ferried Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro to the island as part of an effort to overthrow the regime of US-backed strongman Fulgencio Batista — departed from Puerto Progreso, in Merida, Mexico, last week. Two other vessels are also en route.More than 650 participants from 33 countries arrived on the island last weekend as part of the flotilla and were greeted by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.The US has had an economic embargo in place against Cuba for decades, but the energy restrictions have cut off a vital economic lifeline and contributed to a series of widespread blackouts.