Cuba Latin America

Cuba Receives 700 US Aid Food Kits for Ciego de Ávila

By Contributing Reporter · October 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Front of the Abel Santamaría International Airport terminal in Santa Clara, Cuba, with people queuing outside the entrance — Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara, where the aid shipment landed. File photo, 2016. (Photo: Jmbranum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

CUBA · SOCIETY

Key Facts

—The country Cuba is a one-party communist state under a US trade embargo, in a deep economic crisis marked by blackouts.
—What happened A US government aid shipment of 700 food kits and 700 hygiene kits landed in Santa Clara on Tuesday morning, 6 October.
—Who gets it Vulnerable families in the Catholic Diocese of Ciego de Ávila, starting in the parish of Gaspar, according to Cáritas Cuba.
—The US angle The kits come from a US$100 million US aid fund; Cuba’s Catholic Church channels US$60 million of it, Cáritas says.
—Who hands it out Trained Cáritas volunteers deliver the kits directly to families chosen by vulnerability, such as people over 60 and children under 5.
—Still open How many families in the diocese will be reached, and how much of the US$100 million has been spent so far.

A new shipment of US aid landed in Cuba on Tuesday morning, 6 October, for poor families in central Ciego de Ávila province. The 700 food kits and 700 hygiene kits arrived at Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara, the Catholic charity Cáritas Cuba said.

For Americans, the cargo shows how part of the US taxpayer money set aside for Cubans reaches them: through the Catholic Church’s charity network. It is part of a US$100 million US aid fund, of which Cuba’s Catholic Church channels US$60 million, according to Cáritas.

What Landed in Santa Clara

Cáritas Cuba is the Catholic Church’s social and charity arm on the island. Its statement on Tuesday said the cargo came from the US government and was meant for the families in greatest need.

Father Dariusz Chalupczynski, who heads the Ciego de Ávila diocese, and Roberto Armas Carbonell, the diocese’s Cáritas director, received it. They oversaw the unloading together with airport staff and volunteers, Cáritas said.

Santa Clara is the capital of Villa Clara province in central Cuba, west of Ciego de Ávila. Handouts will begin in the parish of Gaspar, which the Church had identified in advance.

Priority goes to people over 60, people with disabilities or who are bedridden, pregnant or breastfeeding women and children under five. Cáritas volunteers, trained beforehand, will deliver the kits directly to the selected families.

How the US$100 Million Fund Works

Cáritas describes the fund as US$100 million in humanitarian assistance approved by the US administration to support the Cuban people. The Catholic Church in Cuba channels US$60 million of it, the charity says.

CiberCuba, an independent Cuban news site, reported that the US$60 million runs through Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services, a US-based Catholic aid agency.

According to CiberCuba, the remaining US$40 million of US aid is handled by independent organisations.

The Church has stressed that Cáritas does not receive the money in cash, CiberCuba added. The funds buy the food and hygiene goods and pay for getting them to the families.

In the town of Nuevitas, each kit came with a printed list of its contents and contacts for complaints, Cáritas said on Friday 2 October.

Part of a Wider Rollout

The same airport handled earlier US shipments of the same size, 700 food kits and 700 hygiene kits, Cáritas said. They went to the Diocese of Santa Clara on Thursday 10 September and the Diocese of Cienfuegos on Thursday 17 September.

Camagüey, the next province to the east, received its first 700 kits at its own airport on Thursday 1 October, Cáritas Camagüey said. Volunteers then began handing out 400 kits in Nuevitas and 300 in the rural community of Lugareño, where 300 families received them.

The Diocese of Holguín-Las Tunas got a US air shipment of 700 food and 700 hygiene kits on Tuesday 29 September, Cáritas reported. It went to families in eastern Cuba hit by Hurricane Melissa, which struck in October 2025.

Near the capital, Cáritas began handing out US kits in the towns of Bejucal and Alquízar on Wednesday 22 July, the charity said. They lie in Mayabeque and Artemisa provinces, next to Havana.

In mid-September, the United States announced new shipments for Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Matanzas and Pinar del Río, according to CiberCuba. In Matanzas, Cáritas said on 20 September that its volunteers were preparing to reach 18,200 families.

A wide street in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, lined with colonnaded pink and blue buildings, with people waiting on the pavement and a man on a bicycle — A street in the city of Ciego de Ávila, capital of the province that receives the new shipment. File photo, 2015. (Photo: carlos adan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Aid Alongside Pressure

The deliveries run in parallel with heavy US pressure on Cuba’s communist leadership. The United States has kept a trade embargo on the island since the early 1960s.

Ordinary Cubans are struggling. On Tuesday, CiberCuba reported, citing the state newspaper Granma, that blackouts, poor transport and teacher shortages marked the first month of the school year.

On Monday, the Cuban news site Periódico Cubano reported remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American from Florida. In a US television interview, he said he hoped some of those who control Cuba’s weapons would open their eyes to reality.

What It Means for You

For Cuban Americans with relatives in Ciego de Ávila, the US aid kits go only to families the Church has already selected by need. The elderly, disabled people, pregnant women and small children come first.

For US taxpayers and policy watchers, each shipment shows a two-track policy at work. Washington is sending part of its help to ordinary Cubans through the Church while keeping up pressure on the government in Havana.

What Is Not Known

The number of families in Ciego de Ávila who will get kits, and what this batch contains, have not been made public. Nor has a start date for handouts in Gaspar.

Cáritas has not said how much of the US$100 million has been spent so far. Nor has it said how many families the programme has reached across Cuba.

More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays for the aid that arrived in Cuba on 6 October?

The US government. Cáritas Cuba says the kits are part of a US$100 million humanitarian fund approved by the US administration.

Who distributes the US aid inside Cuba?

Cáritas Cuba, the Catholic Church’s charity, hands out the kits through trained volunteers. According to CiberCuba, the Church’s share runs through Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services.

Who receives the kits?

Families the Church selects by vulnerability. Priority goes to people over 60, people with disabilities or who are bedridden, pregnant or breastfeeding women and children under five.

Where else in Cuba has the aid arrived?

Before this shipment, Cáritas reported US aid deliveries in the dioceses of Havana, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Holguín-Las Tunas and Camagüey. The US also announced shipments for Matanzas and Pinar del Río in mid-September, CiberCuba reported.