Havana.- The last two sailboats of the Nuestra América Convoy with nine crew members of various nationalities arrived in Havana on the afternoon of this Saturday, Cuba, after being missing in the Caribbean for seven days, while transporting humanitarian aid from Mexico to the island.
Assisted by the Prácticos vessel, from the Port of Havana, the ships entered the bay of this capital after 4:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT) and with all their activists safe, including two women, six men and a three-year-old minor.
The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) of Mexico had reported in the morning of this day that said vessels were located by a Mexican Navy aircraft 80 nautical miles northwest of Havana and that a ship “headed to the area to provide support.”
The Missing Vessels
The arrival in the Cuban capital occurs after, on Thursday, March 26, the Semar activated a search and rescue plan to locate the vessels “Friendship” and “Tigermoth”.
The first of the vessels was traveling with four and the second with five crew members who had set sail on March 21st from Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, and were scheduled to arrive in Havana between the 24th and 25th of this same month.
Photograph showing sailboats docked this Saturday in Havana Harbor (Cuba). EFE/ Ernesto Mastrascusa
The Semar explained that, in parallel, it maintained international coordination through communication with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers (MRCC) of Poland, France, Cuba, and the United States, the nationalities of the crew members, “in order to strengthen cooperation and the exchange of real-time information.”
This is about the last two ships of the Mexican delegation of the Nuestra América convoy that were carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba, amid the economic deterioration in the Caribbean country and the oil embargo imposed by the United States.
Cuba’s Aid to Mexico
The Nuestra América Convoy, which transported around 30 tons of aid, including food, medicine, hygiene products, and solar panels, has also brought several hundred activists and politicians to the Caribbean nation in the last two weeks.
The vast majority of those visitors were received by the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and participated in political events, visited hospitals and schools.
The initiative, inspired by the Global Sumud Flotilla that in 2025 brought humanitarian aid to Gaza, received criticism from sectors of the Cuban community inside and outside the island.
The aim of the Convoy was to highlight the situation in Cuba under the US oil embargo, a measure that the UN has called contrary to international law.
The island’s economic and energy crisis has worsened since January as a result of Washington’s measure, but the situation on the island was already very deteriorated long before, with deep structural problems.
Mexico confirms
The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) of Mexico reported this Saturday that the catamaran-type vessels ‘Friendship’ and ‘Tigermoth’ arrived and docked safely in the port of Havana, Cuba, after being located 80 nautical miles (149 kilometers) northwest of the island’s capital.
In a message on their X account, Semar confirmed that they maintained follow-up and coordination with the authorities for the arrival of the two sailboats that were transporting humanitarian aid to Cuba and that since Thursday, due to the loss of communication, were missing with nine crew members of different nationalities, including two women, six men and a three-year-old minor.
