The Mexican Navy has found two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba that have disappeared, and their crews are safe, a spokesman for the Nuestra América caravan said Saturday.“The ships continue their journey to Havana,” a spokesman told Reuters. “The convoy remains on track to complete its mission, which is to deliver the humanitarian aid that the Cuban people urgently need.”The boats are part of a broader grassroots effort to deliver food, medicine, baby formula and other supplies to Cuba.The sailboats left the Mexican island of Mujeres last Saturday, and were expected to arrive in Havana between March 24 and 25.
The convoy is part of a broader aid mission to Cuba amid a U.S. blockade on oil shipments and other supplies that has exacerbated power outages and prompted the country to ration services.Confusion over the whereabouts of the boats emerged earlier after the US Coast Guard initially told Agence France-Presse on Friday that the boats had been found, but later retracted the statement and said the search was still ongoing.The Nuestra America coalition, or Americana in Spanish, includes nearly 300 organizations from more than 30 countries, including NGOs, unions, political parties and lawmakers.The group has already delivered about 20 tons of aid to Cuba by air and sea, including food, medicine, solar panels and bicycles.
