Trump Sanctions on Cuba Strands Thousands Of Shipping Containers

Trump Sanctions on Cuba Strands Thousands Of Shipping Containers - The New York Times

Skip to contentSkip to site index

Americas

Log in

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Today’s Paper

* Home
* + U.S.
+ International
+ Canada
+ Español
+ 中文

Trump

Administration

* Defense of A.I.
* How Trump Stifles Speech
* Voting by Mail
* Approval Rating

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

Supported by

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Trump’s Economic Vise Leaves Cubans Desperate for Food and Medicine

The U.S. says its sanctions are not aimed at depriving Cuba of essential goods. Thousands of stranded shipping containers tell a different story.

Listen · 10:36 min

*
*
*
*

!Two large cargo ships sit in the water with cranes overhead.

*Ships unloading humanitarian aid at the Port of Havana this year. The challenges in shipping to the island nation are intensifying a humanitarian crisis.

Credit...

Magdalena Chodownik/Anadolu, via Getty Images*

By

Ed Augustin

and Frances Robles

Ed Augustin reported from Havana.

Sept. 17, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET

Leer en español

See more of our coverage in your search results. Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on Google Agrega The New York Times en Google

Thousands of containers filled with food, medicine and other goods bound for Cuba have been stranded throughout the Caribbean since two shipping giants stopped deliveries to avoid tough U.S. sanctions, according to diplomats, Cuban officials, merchants and others involved in the imports.

The containers stranded in various ports include humanitarian aid, from solar panels to medication to colostomy bags. Dozens of containers of aid purchased by different United Nations agencies are among them.

U.S. sanctions have also hobbled shipments by air, and forced the World Health Organization to scrap planned deliveries of cancer drugs.

The challenges of delivering vital materials have sharply aggravated longstanding shortages, added to an enormous backlog of patients awaiting surgery and sent grocery prices soaring as Cubans live through the island’s worst humanitarian crisis since the 1959 revolution. With food becoming prohibitively expensive, hunger is rising and soup kitchens are struggling to fill the gap.

The Trump administration has imposed an economic vise on Cuba and its ruling communist party to try to force political and economic change.

In January, the administration imposed an oil blockade on the island. Then in May, it cranked up the pressure by announcing that foreign companies working with certain Cuban state entities risked having their assets frozen and being locked out of doing business with U.S. companies and banks.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

Related Content

*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Site Index

Site Information Navigation

* ©2026 The New York Times Company
* NYTCo
* Contact Us
* Accessibility
* Work with us
* Advertise
* T Brand Studio
* Privacy Policy
* Cookie Policy
* Terms of Service
* Terms of Sale
* Site Map
* Canada
* International
* Help
* Subscriptions
*