CARICOM pledges humanitarian aid to Cuba, promises details within month

CARICOM chairman and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister The Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew announced at the close of the 50th Regular Meeting in St Kitts and Nevis that the regional bloc will provide humanitarian assistance to Cuba “in short order” and aims to give full details “within a month.” The statement was made during a CARICOM Secretariat press conference dated 27 February and framed as a coordinated regional response to what leaders described as an escalating humanitarian situation on the island.

Drew told reporters that CARICOM leaders had reached consensus to prepare a coordinated plan but left the contents to teams that will meet next. “When the team comes together, these teams will determine what would be the requirement, and within that, we will determine the humanitarian aid that will be offered,” he said, underscoring that member states will decide the mix of supplies and services before any shipments are committed.

The question of fuel remains unresolved. Drew declined to confirm whether fuel will be among supplies, even as news reporting of Cuba’s conditions lists widespread blackouts, garbage pile‑ups, limited hospital services, severe food shortages and limited international flights because of no refuelling capacity at the airport. Those travel impacts make the logistics element especially urgent for carriers and passengers using Cuba’s airports.

Diplomacy around the pledge included high‑level engagement with the United States. CARICOM leaders met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in St Kitts and issued a joint statement recognising the need to ease Cuba’s humanitarian crisis; the joint statement, as reported at the meeting, said “all parties recognised that there should be efforts to address the growing humanitarian crisis.” Drew also reiterated at the summit close: “We will give more specifics on it very, very, shortly, but within a month we’re going to respond in a significant way to help the humanitarian situation in Cuba.”

The pledge came amid a packed summit agenda. Heads of Government reviewed Haiti and received an update from the Eminent Persons Group chaired by former Saint Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony, and CARICOM “reiterated its appreciation to Kenya for assuming leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission, which has now transitioned into the Gang Suppression Force through United Nations Security Council Resolution 2793,” according to the CARICOM press release. The meeting also advanced regional integration measures, approving expansion of free movement categories to aviation professionals including pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers.

Political tensions surfaced at the summit. Outgoing CARICOM chair and Jamaica Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness urged Caribbean solidarity with the Cuban people “with clarity and courage,” and Jamaica’s press reported a public rebuke from someone identified only as “Giménez”: “I harshly condemn this and find it lamentable that the JLP would cover up for the moribund dictatorship in #Cuba ... Jamaica will face the consequences!”

Operational questions remain. A well‑known Guyanese shipping magnate told Demerara Waves Online News he had not yet received instructions on how to mobilise and ship relief to Cuba, and no CARICOM member or agency has been publicly named as the logistics lead. CARICOM has committed to finalising a detailed plan within the month following the 27 February press conference; until the bloc names coordinating teams, confirms whether fuel is included and identifies ports of departure or transport assets, practical delivery timetables and travel impacts will remain uncertain.

CARICOM’s promise of a “significant” humanitarian response and the chairman’s repeated “within a month” deadline set a clear timeline for action; the next public milestones will be the naming of the coordination teams and the detailed list of supplies and routes that member states approve.