US Renews $100 Million Cuba Aid Offer via Catholic Church as Trump Raises Island With Xi
Updated
Updated · South China Morning Post · May 13
US Renews $100 Million Cuba Aid Offer via Catholic Church as Trump Raises Island With Xi
11 articles · Updated · South China Morning Post · May 13
$100 million in US humanitarian aid was reoffered to Cuba on Wednesday, with Washington saying the package would flow through the Catholic Church and other independent relief groups.
The State Department said Havana must decide whether to accept the assistance, accusing Cuba's communist government of rejecting earlier US help, including support for satellite internet access.
Trump's team tied the renewed offer to the president's discussion of Cuba with Chinese President Xi Jinping, while stressing that Cuban authorities would bear responsibility if life-saving aid were blocked.
The move keeps pressure on Havana while testing whether church-based channels can bypass the state, even as Beijing continues to back Cuba.
Can Cuba's China-backed clean energy revolution break the chokehold of the decades-long US embargo?
Is the $100M aid offer a genuine lifeline or a political gambit tied to the US-Iran war?
$100 Million at an Impasse: The 2026 US Conditional Aid Offer to Cuba and Havana’s Defiant Rejection Amid Humanitarian Crisis
Overview
In May 2026, the US Trump administration offered $100 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba, but with strict conditions: Cuba had to implement meaningful reforms, and the aid would bypass the government, going directly to the people through independent groups like the Catholic Church. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the political intent behind the offer, aiming for internal change in Cuba. The Cuban government quickly and firmly rejected the proposal, calling it a political maneuver and blaming the US 'genocidal energy blockade' for the island’s crisis. This standoff highlights deep mistrust and ongoing tension between the two countries.