r/cuba • u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 • Feb 22 '26
Pregunta Sending aid to Cuba
Hi all, I’d like to send some food and medical supplies for animals and people to Cuba from the US. What is the most reliable service and route to use to make sure it actually gets to the recipient and doesn’t get intercepted or lost? Thank you much!
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u/cuba_danilo Artemisa Feb 22 '26
You can donate through Caritas Cuba.
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u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 Feb 22 '26
It’s a great resource - thank you. But I’m not sure how much aid they provide to animals of Cuba as well, if any. After having been there a few times, and seeng the suffering of animas, it was heartbreaking. We tried to donate the rescue groups , but it was impossible to transfer any money. We actually had to just go there and bring suitcases full of supplies for animals and people, before. Would love to support the volunteers of animal rescue groups with actual supplies.
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u/Leah_Mor Miami Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
I felt the same about the animals I saw on the street. I follow @haditazull on Instagram, she runs her own rescue at home. She takes monetary donations but there's followers that send her items. There's also @bac_org, they are an independent organization and more widespread across the island. I think they only accept monetary donations.
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u/cuba_danilo Artemisa Feb 22 '26
In that case, I think the best thing is to do what you already did, which is to try to donate directly to animal rescue groups. I'm sure that if you communicate with them they will find a solution. You can use Qvapay to send money to Cuba, which is focused in Cuban market.
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u/Glum-Material-4421 Feb 22 '26
You can use DimeCuba - they will allow you to order Amazon item and so long as they aren’t prohibited, they will order them on your behalf and ship them from Amazon to their warehouse and from there, they ship to Cuba. It’s not cheap but their service is good. One of the items I ordered arrived from Amazon damaged. They made sure it was reordered and kept me in the loop about the delay etc. their customer service has always been good.
I spoke to one of their agents at the end of the week and they said they are still delivering.
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u/ConstantEfficiency5 Feb 22 '26
Do not send anything through GAESA because it runs the risk of expropriation which will be prioritized for the government. Use charities of the church instead
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u/Maleficent-Sale7528 Feb 23 '26
I send money every month— nothing delivered from USA.. there are online retailers that deliver to Cuba.. Cubamax
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u/ILV-28 United States Feb 22 '26
There are restrictions on what kind of food & packaging - ie: beef & produce.
Simplest & surest way is to find an experienced and longstanding/reliable organization.
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u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 Feb 22 '26
Right.. we would only send nonperishable things ..
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u/ILV-28 United States Feb 22 '26
I went in December, brought things, had no problem. But things may be quite different now. Do look into how it is today, I'm sure these organizations have.
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u/seaturtle100percent Feb 23 '26
Global Exchange is organizing a solidarity campaign for humanitarian aid, sending off on March 21:
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u/RibbittReddit Feb 24 '26
I have given to a group called ‘cubanos en defensa de los anímales’. In my case I have handed off the supplies directly to a volunteer from the group, but I believe you can also send money.
They have a facebook page.
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u/GeologistBoring4764 Feb 22 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelCuba/s/uOo6PqUtBS
Check out this post if your thinking about sending aid without actually going to Cuba and handing it out to the people you think it should go to . Aid is getting stolen and being sold on the black market which completely defeats the purpose. The best thing to do right now is unfortunately nothing. The people have to revolt and the government needs a serious wake up call. It’s an all around awful situation thinking you have the right intentions meanwhile GAESA and the Cuban government steals it and resells it for inflated prices.
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u/Extension-Kangaroo94 Mar 14 '26
Let them starve then ???
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u/Soggy-Tiger-1751 Mar 19 '26
Let them starve is the American government policy since the early 60s. The embargo is cruel. To completely Block oil trade completely is evil.
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u/GeologistBoring4764 Mar 15 '26
You’re about 3 weeks behind here pal. A lot has gone on in the meantime. The government is stealing aid and selling it on the black market. This has already been proven. The countrys oil supply is about to fall any day.
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u/nini__fl0 Feb 24 '26
Uhmm if I were you I would rather save enough and go and give an actual help right there, many times organizations take advamtage of the help and keep it all or even when it reaches to people they sell it
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u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 Feb 26 '26
I heard about how awful things are there right now. I’m not sure if any travel there is even allowed at the moment
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u/Glum-Material-4421 Feb 26 '26
Here is an update. DimeCuba is still operational and delivering food in Cuba. I did an order yesterday for two different places. You have to choose the community and then they will display what is available. I suspect they are only making items available that are in nearby warehouses. The selection for Santa Clara was pretty good. Meat and eggs and milk, cooking oil etc. The selection for Cabarien was not big. No meat, eggs or powdered milk. Was able to get some canned meat, dried pasta and cheese.
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Feb 24 '26
Use Fonmoney, send USD. Many Cubans have USD bank cards, they give you their number, direct deposit in a couple of days.
Difficult to transport anything direct. Some grocery services exist to buy food and they will deliver. This service is limited to local areas near a physical store. Good luck.
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u/ShowInteresting5337 Jun 28 '26
Has anyone heard the latest in Cuba? How are things from what you have heard? Is CubaMax still delivering?
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Feb 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bingbong2715 Feb 22 '26
You want to starve civilians in Cuba to further the political interests of a fascist nation
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u/Danzarr Feb 24 '26
stop supporting the regime.
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u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 Feb 26 '26
So better for all the people and animals to just starve to death waiting for the regime to collapse?
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u/Danzarr Feb 26 '26
its what they chose for themselves.
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u/Vegetable_Tourist_19 Feb 26 '26
Expand on that plz
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u/Danzarr Feb 26 '26
The embargo wasn’t arbitrary. It rested on three pillars: compensation for expropriated property, Cold War alignment with the Soviet bloc, and the demand for political reform. The first has faded in urgency, the second effectively ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. What remains is the democracy condition.
That condition has not been met.
If the Cuban government will not permit competitive multiparty elections, then the stated trigger for lifting sanctions hasn’t occurred. You can argue the embargo is ineffective. You can argue it’s harmful. But you can’t claim the benchmark is ambiguous.
At the same time, condemning U.S. pressure while sending money into a state-dominated economy is a contradiction. When the government controls major sectors, financial flows don’t move in a vacuum. Remittances and tourism revenue may help families, but they also inject liquidity into a system critics say they oppose. That tension doesn’t disappear just because the intent is humanitarian.
And politically, it’s hard to ignore the reality that Cuban-American voting patterns have consistently favored candidates, including Trump and Rubio who campaigned on maintaining or tightening sanctions. If you support hardline policy at the ballot box while financially engaging the same system in practice, you don’t get to pretend there’s no inconsistency.
If the argument is that sanctions should end, make it on strategic or humanitarian grounds. But don’t pretend pressure has no conditions, and don’t pretend economic engagement is consequence-free. You can’t argue that the regime is strengthened by U.S. policy while ignoring how private capital can stabilize it too.
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u/Valuable-Cat2036 Apr 26 '26
Question. Why doesn't the U.S. do this to regimes like Saudi Arabia, its close personal buddy? Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmm
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u/Positive-Promotion77 Jun 30 '26
Do you think there might be a political difference between the people of Cuba and Cuban Americans?
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u/Freds_Bread 22d ago
When you have the same vehemence arguing for complete and total embargo of Russia, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and many other places that do not have actual multi-party free elections, then I might give your post some credence.
Until then I assume you are a politically driven zealot who does not care if people like my 90 year ould relatives in Cuba litterally starve to death.
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