Aid Mission Inspired by Gaza Flotilla Will Defy US Blockade and Sail to Cuba

A group of humanitarians and activists inspired by last year’s Gaza aid flotilla have announced they will sail to Cuba next month in defiance of a US blockade on the island nation.

Several organisers of the Nuestra América Flotilla were involved in the attempt to deliver aid to besieged Palestinians as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose crew members were illegally detained and abused by Israel’s military.

Cuba has grounded flights and is facing severe power outages after Donald Trump imposed a total blockade on oil to the country, threatening tariffs against any nation that supplies it with fuel.

It marked a significant escalation of a decades-long blockade, widely considered illegal, that has strained Cuba’s healthcare and education system and led to food shortages.

The flotilla will sail with food, medicine and other essential supplies in an act of “direct civilian solidarity”, organisers said.

“When governments enforce collective punishment, ordinary people have a responsibility to act,” said David Adler, an organiser with the flotilla who sailed towards Gaza last year.

“Last year we sailed to Gaza to challenge a blockade that was starving civilians. Today we are preparing to sail to Cuba for the same reason: break the siege, bring food and medicine, and to show that solidarity can cross any border or sea.”