Sailboats carrying aid from Mexico to Cuba still missing
Two sailboats carrying aid from Mexico to Cuba are missing, with the US Coast Guard saying the search is “ongoing.”
The sailboats Friendship and Tigger Moth, carrying humanitarian aid for Cuba and crewed by activists taking part in the Nuestra America Convoy flotilla, depart Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Mar 21, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Paola Chiomante)
HAVANA: Two sailboats reported missing from a convoy transporting humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba remain unaccounted for, the US Coast Guard and a spokesperson for the convoy told Reuters on Friday (Mar 27).
The US Coast Guard said the search was "ongoing".
Earlier on Friday, the AFP cited a US Coast Guard spokesperson as saying that the boats had arrived in Cuba safely, but a US Coast Guard spokesperson later told Reuters that the initial statement it had provided to the AFP had been incorrect.
The two boats were part of a broader volunteer grassroots aid effort seeking to deliver food, medicine, baby formula and other supplies to the Caribbean's largest island, amid a US stranglehold on shipments of oil and other supplies that has worsened power outages and led the state to ration services.
The US Coast Guard told Reuters it had been notified of the two missing vessels but had not received a request for assistance for the rescue efforts, which are being led by Mexico and Cuba.
"We remain vigilant and prepared to provide support if requested," it said.
Mexico's navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, but have previously said they are in contact with various international rescue centres including the US, and that the vessels were well-equipped and its crew experienced sailors from different nationalities.
The boats left on March 21 from Mexico's southern Caribbean island Isla Mujeres and had been expected to arrive between March 24 and 25.
At a press conference earlier on Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the search was ongoing, and that nine people had been on board one of the sailboats.
Cuba's Centre for International Press, which handles queries for Cuban government agencies, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the situation. A state-run news program on Friday repeated President Miguel Diaz-Canel's concern over the missing boats.
