Sailboats carrying aid reach Cuba after going missing: AFP journalist
Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Cuba reached Havana on Saturday after a long journey from Mexico during which they went missing and triggered a search-and-rescue mission.
The boats, which went missing from Thursday to Saturday with nine people aboard, were seen sailing across the capital's oceanfront on their way to the port, an AFP journalist said.
The vessels are bringing the final shipments of Our America Convoy, an international humanitarian effort that has brought aid to support Cuba as a US oil blockade deepens the island's energy and economic crisis.
The Friend Ship and Tiger Moth, which set sail from southeast Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on March 20, had been expected to arrive in Cuba on Tuesday or Wednesday.
But the Mexican Navy announced a search and rescue mission Thursday after losing communication with them, raising concerns about their fate.
The US Coast Guard sparked confusion Friday when it said it had received a report that the two vessels had "safely transited to Cuba," only to say later that the search was ongoing and it was not involved in it.
After a tense wait, organizers of Our America Convoy reported early Saturday that the Mexican Navy had finally located the boats and that the crews were safe.
The Navy said one of its aircraft had spotted the sailboats 80 nautical miles northwest of Havana. It then deployed a ship to support them.
The identities and nationalities of the crew members have not been disclosed, but Mexico's Navy had been in communication with rescue agencies in Poland, France, Cuba and the United States.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel had voiced concern about their disappearance on Friday and said his country was doing everything to find them.
- Trump: 'Cuba is next' -
The first shipments from the convoy arrived by plane from Europe and the United States last week.
A fishing boat that was converted into an aid vessel, which had also left Mexico last week, arrived in Cuba on Tuesday, a few days later than planned due to unfavorable weather, currents and battery issues.
It had been escorted by a Mexican Navy ship part of the way.
The convoy brought more than 50 tonnes of medical supplies, food, water and solar panels to Cuba, with hospitals among the recipients.
Cuban exiles in Miami and other critics have slammed the convoy as benefiting the communist government more than ordinary people.
US President Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade on Cuba in January after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whose government had been Cuba's principal source of fuel.
Trump has also threatened tariffs on countries that ship oil to Cuba, whose aging electricity system has been hit by regular blackouts, including two nationwide outages last week.
He renewed his threats on Havana on Friday, even as the US-Israeli war against Iran entered its second month.
"I built this great military. I said, 'You'll never have to use it,' but sometimes you have to use it," Trump said at the Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami.
"And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn't say that."
U.al-Sulaiti--BT
