Two Cuba-Destined Humanitarian Vessels Reported Unaccounted For after Departing the Coast of Mexico.
A large-scale rescue and recovery operation is presently under way in the Caribbean Sea for a pair of lost boats loaded with aid cargo en route from Mexico to Havana.
Naval Search and Rescue Missions Deployed
Mexico has dispatched naval assets and military search aircraft to locate the missing boats, which were transporting a minimum of 9 crew members, per a navy statement.
The vessels had been expected to make landfall in Havana on the early part of the week, but there has been radio silence from them and no official word of their safe arrival, the navy said.
The Situation of Aid to Cuba
The island nation has leaned on humanitarian shipments from Mexico over the last several weeks, as the island struggles through multiple nationwide blackouts.
"The skippers and their teams are experienced sailors, and the two ships are fitted with appropriate safety equipment and emergency beacons," a representative involved in the effort stated.
The nine crew members are nationals of Poland, France, Cuba and the US. Officials said it has opened communications with coast guard agencies from those nations along with their consular staff.
"Our team is co-operating fully with the officials and remain confident in the crews' ability to reach Havana safely," the spokesperson added.
Recent Humanitarian Delivery
Previously that week, the Cuban authorities warmly welcomed and officially received a different ship that had transported 14 tons of donated goods to the nation.
That vessel, nicknamed "a new Granma" following the name of the yacht in which Castro returned to Cuba to begin the revolution in the 1950s, delivered solar panels, pharmaceuticals, baby formula, bicycles and provisions.
Wider International Climate
Volunteers and NGOs have largely spearheaded initiatives to deliver essential supplies to Cuba beginning in January, a period which saw a energy blockade on the island nation came into effect.
International organizations have since highlighted ""critical" shortages of supplies, with over fifty thousand operations called off in Cuba because of power shortages.
Political measures have intensified in recent months, with statements from different officials highlighting the complicated state of relations.
Reacting to certain proposals, a prominent Cuban official insisted that "the governance model of Cuba is non-negotiable."
Reports suggest that preliminary steps of talks were initiated, although their present status remains uncertain.
The maritime authorities said it was committed to using every available asset at its reach to discover the vessels and secure the safety of the sailors.
As of now, there has been no official comment on the disappeared vessels by the Cuban leadership.