Missing Aid Boats Carrying Nine Crew Members Arrive Safely in Havana

The sailboats Friendship and Tiger Moth left Isla Mujeres on March 20 carrying nine crew members and humanitarian aid bound for Cuba. They never arrived on schedule, and then the radio went silent.

By Saturday afternoon, both boats had docked in Havana, ending an anxious stretch for governments on three continents after a Mexican navy aircraft spotted them 80 nautical miles northwest of the Cuban capital.

The vessels departed from Isla Mujeres, in Mexico's easternmost state of Quintana Roo, as part of the Nuestra America Convoy, a grassroots international aid mission. They were expected to reach Havana between March 24 and 25. When they failed to arrive and all communication ceased, Mexico's navy activated a formal search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean.

Adnaan Stumo, a U.S. citizen who coordinated the sailing convoy, said bad weather caused the delay and the breakdown in communications. "Over the past week, our sailboats encountered difficult conditions at sea, during which we lost contact with convoy coordinators and maritime authorities alike," Stumo said after arriving in Havana. He thanked Mexico's navy for its support and said the crew was "delighted" to begin delivering aid. "We arrive with a simple but powerful message: solidarity with the Cuban people doesn't stop at borders. It crosses oceans."

A spokesperson for the Nuestra America Convoy confirmed the outcome Saturday: "We are relieved to confirm that the two sailboats have been located by the Mexican navy, the crews are safe, and the vessels are continuing their journey to Havana." The convoy, the spokesperson added, "remains on track to complete its mission — delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people."

The nine crew members hold nationalities from Poland, France, Cuba and the United States. Convoy organizers had stressed throughout the search that the captains and crews were experienced sailors and that both vessels carried appropriate safety systems and signaling equipment.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which was not involved in the search effort, separately announced Friday that it had received a report at 10:36 a.m. (2:36 p.m. GMT) that "the two vessels safely transited to Cuba." The Mexican navy offered no public explanation of how it located the boats.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel had voiced "deep concern" on Friday, writing on X that his government was "doing everything possible to search for and save these brothers in arms." Mexico's authorities maintained contact throughout the search with representatives from Poland, France, Cuba and the United States, the countries whose citizens were aboard.

The Friendship and Tiger Moth are not the convoy's only vessels. Another boat, Maguro, which activists symbolically renamed "Granma 2.0" as a tribute to the yacht that carried Fidel Castro's guerrilla fighters to Cuba in 1956, docked at Havana port on March 24 and unloaded aid alongside Cuban officials.

The arrivals come against a worsening humanitarian backdrop. The UN has warned Cuba faces "dire" supply shortages, with more than 50,000 surgeries cancelled because fuel constraints and aging infrastructure have triggered repeated nationwide blackouts. Volunteers and non-governmental organizations have largely led aid deliveries since the U.S. imposed an oil blockade in January. On Friday, President Donald Trump, speaking about military actions in Venezuela and Iran, said "Cuba is next.