US renews $100m Cuba aid offer; alleges Havana blocking ‘critical life-saving aid’

. " decoding="async" fetchpriority="high"> . The United States renewed an offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba, saying the assistance would be made available if Havana cooperates with Washington as the island struggles through a worsening economic and energy crisis marked by prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the US state department said the proposed package would include direct humanitarian assistance and funding for “fast and free” internet access in Cuba, while also pushing for what it described as “meaningful reforms” in the communist-run country. “The regime refuses to allow the United States to provide this assistance to the Cuban people, who are in desperate need of assistance due to the failures of Cuba's corrupt regime,” the state department said. “The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical (life)-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance." The renewed offer came days after secretary of state Marco Rubio, speaking in Rome, claimed Cuba had already rejected a previous $100 million aid proposal. Havana denied receiving any such offer. Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez dismissed Rubio’s remarks, calling the proposal a “lie” that “no one here knows anything about”. “Will it be a donation, a deception or a dirty deal to curtail our independence? Wouldn't it be easier to lift the fuel blockade?” Rodriguez wrote on X. The diplomatic exchange comes as Cuba faces one of its worst energy crises in recent years. According to data compiled by AFP, around 65 per cent of Cuban territory experienced simultaneous blackouts on Tuesday amid severe electricity generation shortfalls. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel acknowledged the “particularly tense” energy situation on Wednesday but blamed US sanctions for the deterioration. “This dramatic worsening has a single cause: the genocidal energy blockade to which the United States subjects our country, threatening irrational tariffs against any nation that supplies us with fuel,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X. Cuba’s economic difficulties have deepened since January after the United States moved against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government, disrupting fuel shipments that had covered roughly half of Cuba’s energy needs. Since then, only one Russian tanker carrying fuel has reportedly arrived in Cuba. The Trump administration has already provided $6 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba through Catholic Church charities, bypassing the Cuban government. The Church has historically acted as an intermediary between Washington and Havana. Washington has also tightened pressure on the Cuban economy in recent weeks. Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on a Cuban military conglomerate that controls nearly 40 per cent of the island’s economy, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting foreign banks dealing with blacklisted Cuban entities. Rubio, a Cuban-American politician and long-time critic of Cuba’s communist leadership, has reportedly maintained contact with sections of the Cuban elite in an effort to encourage political change on the island. The United States has maintained an embargo on Cuba for most of the period since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.