Missing aid boats bound for Cuba have been located, Mexican authorities say
By Uriel Blanco, Max Saltman, CNN
(CNN) — Two Mexican aid boats that disappeared at sea while delivering aid to Cuba have been located northwest of the Cuban capital of Havana following a search and rescue operation, Mexico’s navy said Saturday.
The sailboats were located 80 nautical miles from Havana using Mexican naval aircraft and communication is being maintained with the vessels via radio, according to an update from the Secretariat of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR).
A spokesperson for the Our America Convoy confirmed to CNN Saturday morning that the crew members of the sailboats are safe.
“Their crews are safe and the boats continue their journey to Havana. The convoy continues its course to complete its mission: to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the Cuban people,” the spokesman said.
CNN has reached out to Convoy Nuestra América to confirm whether the vessels have now arrived in Havana.
The sailboats were reported missing on Thursday, after they lost communication with Mexican authorities. A search and rescue operation was launched.
These boats set sail from Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican Caribbean, a week ago, on Saturday, March 21, and their arrival was expected “between the night of Friday, March 27 and noon on Saturday, March 28,” according to the Convoy Nuestra América.
The Our America Convoy is a solidarity initiative of groups and people from
different countries, largely Latin America and Europe, who aim to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba.
This initiative is inspired by the Sumud Global Flotilla that in 2025 brought humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“We are an international coalition of people and organizations dedicated to
delivering critical humanitarian aid to the Cuban people,” says the Convoy
Nuestra América website.
The critical aid for Cuba comes as the nation has taken a severe economic hit since the US effectively blocked its oil supply earlier this year, depriving its aging electricity network of its main source of fuel.
Last Sunday, the island was plunged into its second nationwide blackout in less than a week, leaving more than 10 million people without power after the electrical grid suffered “a total disconnection.”
A first group of the Our America Convoy arrived in Cuba on March 18 with “loads of aid,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said at the time.
Shortly after, on Tuesday, March 24, the flagship of the Convoy Nuestra América arrived in Havana after four days of sailing. That boat arrived with humanitarian aid of 14 tons of food and medicine, 73 solar panels and a dozen bicycles.
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CNN’s Sol Amaya contributed reporting.
