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Cáritas distributes two new U.S. humanitarian shipments in Matanzas and Ciego de Ávila
A third flight landed on Tuesday in Varadero with 700 hygiene kits and a second shipment arrived on Wednesday in Camagüey, under the 100 million dollar program announced in May, which delivers aid without passing through the Cuban government.
A third flight carrying U.S. government humanitarian aid landed on Tuesday at Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport in Varadero with 700 personal hygiene kits, Cáritas Cuba said. With the three shipments, 2,100 families in Matanzas province will have received assistance.
Alberto Chía, diocesan coordinator of the Risk and Disaster Management Program, said 139 kits would be handed out on Wednesday in Alacranes, 311 in San Antonio de Cabezas, 50 in Unión de Reyes and 200 in Bolondrón. A fourth shipment is expected in late November, bound for the San Carlos Borromeo vicariate.
On Wednesday a second shipment for the Diocese of Ciego de Ávila landed at Ignacio Agramonte International Airport in Camagüey, with 704 food kits and 705 hygiene kits for the parish of Gaspar, in Baraguá, and the pastoral area of Majagua. Selection criteria give priority to people over 60, people with disabilities or confined to bed, pregnant or postpartum women and children under five.
The shipments are part of the 100 million dollar humanitarian aid program for Cuba that Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in May 2026 after meeting Pope Leo XIV in Rome. Of that amount, 60 million is channeled through Catholic Relief Services and the Cáritas Cuba network, and 40 million through other independent humanitarian organizations.
A central condition of the program is that the aid reach families directly, without passing through the Cuban government or the military conglomerate GAESA: Catholic Relief Services buys the supplies in the United States and Cáritas distributes them on the island. The U.S. organization estimates the program could benefit almost 200,000 households, equivalent to more than 500,000 people.
Cáritas Cuba acknowledged in its statement that "existing needs exceed what the donation can cover", and highlighted its volunteers' work identifying the most vulnerable households according to the established criteria.
Sources: CiberCuba · Martí Noticias · Diario de Cuba · Serie Yamacoa: Población efectiva de Cuba (ONEI)
Data updated: 2026-11-12T04:15:00.000Z