By Vera Lucia Pappaterra \/ Miami Herald<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday rejected claims the U.S. policies are responsible for Cuba\u2019s worsening humanitarian crisis, telling U.N. member states that the U.S. government is offering a new $100 million humanitarian aid package while accusing the Cuban government of causing the island\u2019s shortages through corruption and failed economic policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sharp exchange came during a briefing on Cuba, hours after St\u00e9phane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, told journalists on all of Cuba\u2019s \u201cbasic services, from clean water and sanitation to food production and the health sector, have been impacted by the lack of fuel and electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Edem Wosornu, director of the Crisis Response Division at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, chaired the briefing. Wosornu recently traveled to Cuba with officials from the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. She said the visit was \u201cstrictly humanitarian\u201d and focused on the impact of overlapping crises, including repeated hurricanes, economic constraints linked to sanctions and persistent energy shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing here today is beyond the impact of one single event,\u201d Wosornu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said Cuba\u2019s energy crisis is affecting nearly every aspect of daily life, including access to water, food systems, sanitation, education and health services. Humanitarian groups are also struggling to deliver aid because of fuel shortages, transportation problems, higher logistics costs and complications tied to U.S. sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one pediatric hospital she visited, Wosornu said, \u201conly the emergency room and the intensive care unit remained open out of seven wards due to lack of electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Francisco Pich\u00f3n, the U.N. resident coordinator in Cuba, said the island energy crisis has become \u201ca growing humanitarian emergency that is affecting millions of people every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the beginning of the year, he said, no new oil shipments have reached the country for regular distribution and use in the national power system, except for one Russian shipment in April that covered roughly two weeks of demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, Pich\u00f3n said, daily blackouts in Havana now exceed 20 to 22 hours, while outages in other parts of the country can last more than a day. \u201cNight has become days,\u201d Pich\u00f3n said, describing how Cuban families cook, store water and reorganize their lives around the few hours electricity is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pich\u00f3n said about 2.7 million people are affected by water shortages, the national water system is functioning at 37% with the available fuel and only about 30% of essential medicines are available. He also said about 100,000 patients are waiting for surgeries, including 12,000 children. The U.N. humanitarian action plan for Cuba seeks $94.1 million and targets 2.2 million people, Pich\u00f3n said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 33% of the funding, or approximately $31 million, has been secured, leaving a funding gap of about $60 million. He said the biggest obstacle remains access to humanitarian fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe challenge extends beyond fuel,\u201d Pich\u00f3n said, adding that banks, shipping companies, logistics providers and private sector actors are increasingly avoiding transactions connected to Cuba because of sanctions concerns and overcompliance. He said 2,900 metric tons of food are currently delayed in reaching Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ernesto Sober\u00f3n Guzm\u00e1n, Cuba\u2019s permanent representative to the United Nations, blamed the crisis on U.S. policy, calling it a \u201cpolicy of collective punishment\u201d and saying recent U.S. executive orders have intensified the economic pressure on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe complex humanitarian situation Cuba faces today has a direct cause: the inhumane policy of collective punishment imposed by the United States against my country,\u201d Sober\u00f3n Guzm\u00e1n said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But U.S Ambassador Mike Waltz pushed back sharply, saying the United States \u201cstands with the people of Cuba,\u201d but not with the Cuban government, which he accused of failing, jailing and stealing from its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waltz said the U.S. has provided $9 million in humanitarian assistance since Hurricane Melissa struck in October 2025 and is now offering an additional $100 million package that includes food, hygiene products and water treatment supplies. The aid, he said, would be distributed directly to the Cuban people through the Catholic Church and other reliable institutions, not through the Cuban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waltz also denied that there is an \u201coil blockade,\u201d saying Washington has permitted fuel deliveries from Russia and fuel shipments from the United States to private entities not affiliated with the Cuban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not because of the embargo, or because of an \u2018oil blockade,\u2019 which is untrue and fake,\u201d Waltz said. \u201cCuba is suffering because the regime chose failed communist economics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the Cuban government must open the economy, free political prisoners and stop blaming the United States for the island\u2019s suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sober\u00f3n Guzm\u00e1n accused the United States of lying about the causes of the crisis and said the embargo has caused billions of dollars in annual damage to Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe best assistance that the U.S. government could provide to the noble Cuban people at this time or any time is to de-escalate the energy, economic, commercial and financial blockade measures,\u201d Sober\u00f3n Guzm\u00e1n said. Wosornu closed the briefing by urging member states to turn the discussion into help, including funding and access to fuel for humanitarian purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a pivotal moment,\u201d Wosornu said. \u201cI urge all of us to translate today\u2019s discussion into concrete support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IMAGE CREDIT: The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. Spencer Platt Getty Images
[ SOURCE: MIAMI HERALD ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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