SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government on Thursday announced an additional $6 million in aid to Cuba as the crisis deepens and tensions between the two countries escalate, with Cuba’s president accusing the U.S. of imposing an “energy blockade.”
The aid is primarily aimed at people living in the eastern part of Cuba, where Hurricane Melissa hit late last year. The supplies, which include rice, beans, pasta, canned tuna and solar lights, will be provided by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said Jeremy Lewin, a senior State Department official.
He warned that officials from the U.S. Embassy in Cuba would be on the scene “to ensure that the regime does not accept aid, divert aid or attempt to politicize it.”
The United States has previously provided $3 million in relief supplies to the Cuban people affected by Melissa.
Lewin denied that the halt in Venezuelan oil shipments was responsible for the humanitarian situation in Cuba after the United States attacked the South American country and arrested its then-leader.
Over the years, he said, the island had “hoarded all its resources for the handful of old men who ran the country, their followers and the security apparatus,” while he accused Cuba of “meddling in overseas affairs,” including “colonizing Venezuela.”
“So that’s where they spent their time and attention,” Lewin said, noting that his mother was born in Havana.
“Why are they not getting food? It’s not because we don’t allow illegal Venezuelan oil to continue to enrich Raul Castro,” he added, referring to the former Cuban president. “It’s because the government can’t put food on the shelves. They have billions of dollars, but they’re not going to use it to buy food for ordinary Cubans.”
Lewin’s comments came hours after Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel held a rare, invitation-only press conference in which he answered questions from a select group of reporters. The Associated Press was not invited.
Díaz-Canel said this was a “psychological war” against Cuba, labeling U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba an “energy blockade.”
He said such actions affected transport, hospitals, schools, tourism and food production. In addition to severe blackouts, Cuban officials pointed to increased U.S. sanctions during Trump’s second term, which cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.
“I know we will have difficult times. But we will overcome them together with creative resilience,” Díaz-Canel said during a two-hour speech in which he answered questions from a number of reporters.
He pointed out that Cuba has not received oil shipments since the United States began a “naval blockade” on Venezuela in December last year.
“So we have problems with fuel supply, not only to ensure power generation but also basic activities,” he said.
Díaz-Canel promised that within the week he would share details about the current situation on the island and how the government will respond.
“There’s a lot of fear,” he said. “I know people are going to say, ‘Sacrifice again?’ So, if we don’t sacrifice, if we don’t resist, what do we do? Do we give up?”
Lewin said there could be more announcements if the Cuban government wakes up and is willing to allow more U.S. support.
“They should be focusing on delivering services to people, not making these rants,” Lewin said. “He can talk big words, but again, the first responsibility of any government is always to provide food for the people.”
In his speech, Díaz-Canel said his government was willing to talk to the United States under certain conditions, including respecting Cuba’s sovereignty and “not addressing sensitive issues that could be seen as interference in our internal affairs.”
“Cubans don’t hate the American people,” Díaz-Canel said. “We do not pose a threat to the United States.”
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