Cuba receives Chinese rice donation during worsening fuel and food crisis

Cuba has received the first shipment of a major rice donation from China as the island continues to face worsening humanitarian conditions, fuel shortages and rolling blackouts.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed on Sunday that the first delivery of 15,000 tonnes of rice arrived at Havana’s port a day earlier.

The shipment forms part of a larger Chinese donation expected to total around 60,000 tonnes.

Diaz-Canel expressed “deep gratitude” to China and criticised the United States for increasing sanctions against Cuba under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Thank you very much for the solidarity, and for the firm and unequivocal condemnation of the collective punishment to which our people are being subjected,” Diaz-Canel wrote on social media.

The island has been struggling with severe economic difficulties after the US tightened sanctions and effectively blocked oil exports to Cuba earlier this year.

Cuban authorities have warned that fuel supplies have nearly run out, leading to nationwide blackouts and disruption to transport and healthcare services.

Trump has continued his hardline approach towards Cuba and recently suggested possible military action if Havana refuses to meet US demands.

Diaz-Canel accused Washington of pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign designed to destabilise the country.