Updated March 28, 2026 — Two sailboats that had gone missing while ferrying humanitarian aid from southern Mexico to Cuba arrived in Havana Saturday afternoon, hours after Mexico’s navy reported locating the vessels following several days out of touch in rough seas.
The sailboats, carrying at least eight people, left Isla Mujeres on March 20 and later lost contact with convoy coordinators and maritime authorities, raising concern in Mexico, Cuba and abroad. Mexico’s navy said an aircraft found the boats about 80 nautical miles northwest of Havana and dispatched a naval vessel to provide support. One of the yachts was escorted into Havana Bay and both vessels reached the city later that day.
Adnaan Stumo, coordinator of the sailing convoy and a U.S. citizen, said bad weather had forced the fleet onto a longer route and that the crews were never in serious danger. He thanked the Mexican navy for its assistance and said the group was eager to begin delivering aid in Cuba. “We arrive with a simple but powerful message: solidarity with the Cuban people doesn’t stop at borders. It crosses oceans,” Stumo said.
Organizers identified the effort as part of the Nuestra América Convoy, a global coalition coordinating aid shipments to Cuba. The coalition said earlier that, based on reported vessel speeds provided to Cuban maritime authorities, an arrival window of Friday through Saturday was expected and that experienced sailors were in command. James Schneider, communications director for Progressive International, which helped coordinate the convoy, expressed relief at the crews’ safety and thanked Mexican and Cuban authorities. “The convoy remains on track to complete its mission — delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people,” he said.
The deliveries come amid a surge in international aid headed to Cuba as the island grapples with widespread blackouts that U.N. officials say could presage a humanitarian crisis linked to a U.S. fuel blockade. In a separate development, President Trump, speaking Friday about actions toward Venezuela and Iran, said “Cuba is next.”
A delegation of religious leaders arrived in Cuba the same day the vessels were located; they visited hospitals and a nursing home and met local clergy. “Immense suffering is being caused to the people,” said the Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.