Dozens of boxes stand in front of a house in Mexico City. They mainly contain medicines and medical supplies, such as dialysis bags for kidney patients. One by one they are unpacked, inspected, weighed, and then packed again. An exact record is kept on a form of what is inside the boxes. Afterwards, a label is attached with the destination: Cuba.
"It is a drop in the ocean," says Olivia Garza, who leads a group organizing solidarity actions with Cuba. "But it is all we can currently do to help Cuba even a little bit."
"We sort the donated medicines. All donations are welcome, but sometimes we receive products whose expiration date has passed. That is why we always have to carry out a sorting process before sending them to Cuba," she explains.
The boxes are sent by ship to Cuba. Previously, ships with such emergency aid sailed almost weekly from Mexico to the island, which lies about 300 kilometers away by sea. But due to the US sanctions against Cuba, everything has become more difficult.
Mexico and Cuba have a close relationship that goes back centuries. During the Cold War, Mexico was the only Latin American country that maintained relations with communist Cuba. And even long after the Cold War, Mexico was one of the few countries that consistently continued to support the Cuban regime, diplomatically, culturally, and economically. As the crisis on the island increased, deliveries of emergency aid from Mexico became increasingly important.
But much has changed in the past year and a half. Under pressure from the United States, which hopes to bring down the Cuban regime through economic isolation, trade between Mexico and Cuba has almost come to a standstill. Much less humanitarian aid is being sent. Also, oil deliveries from Mexico, which were vital for electricity supply in Cuba, have all but stopped.
To the anger of many Mexicans, who see the Cubans as a brotherly people. Every few weeks, large solidarity protests for Cuba are held in Mexico City, calling for an end to the suffocating sanctions. On banners and signs, the accusatory finger is pointed at the "imperialist actions" of the United States. Images of the revolutionary heroes Che Guevara and Fidel Castro are held up.
The demonstrations are independent of politics. Despite its left-wing signature, the ruling party Morena has never been represented, and the Cuban embassy in Mexico told NOS it does not play a role in organizing the protests.
Every time a demonstration is held, Olivia Garza is there with her organization. She tries to raise awareness for Cuba but also to ensure that people get to know and support her organization.
She says she understands that the government cannot help Cuba now. "The threat from the US to impose tariffs or sanctions on countries that continue to trade with Cuba is enormous," she says. "Mexico's economic dependence on the US is also enormous. I understand that trade has now been halted."
The anger of the protesters is therefore mainly directed at the United States, which has turned its sights on Cuba after Venezuela. Due to the permanent shortage of oil, the island has largely come to a standstill.
Pamela Valdiva, also present at the protest, believes that Mexico should therefore resume sending oil and other humanitarian aid to Cuba as soon as possible. For her, it is about more than just helping Cuba. "We want to be able to trade with the island again. It is also about our sovereignty as a nation, as the Mexican people," she says, meaning that Mexico should be able to decide for itself with whom it trades and maintains friendship.
But as long as the heavy US sanctions against Cuba remain in place, Mexico cannot escape the restrictions either. And that means Cuba now mainly has to rely on the emergency aid collected by organizations like Olivia Garza's.