HAVANA — Thousands of shipping containers carrying food, medicine, and essential goods destined for Cuba have been delayed or left stranded across Caribbean ports following a suspension of deliveries by major international shipping companies, sources including diplomats, Cuban officials, and humanitarian groups report.

Containers include humanitarian supplies such as solar panels for hospitals, medications, colostomy bags, water treatment kits, antibiotics, contraceptives, and pregnancy tests. Dozens of these consignments were procured by United Nations agencies. The delayed shipments have compounded shortages of critical goods in Cuba during what officials and analysts describe as the island’s most severe humanitarian crisis since the 1959 revolution.

The disruption stems from U.S. sanctions intensified under the Trump administration aiming to pressure Cuba’s Communist government. Beginning in January, the administration imposed an oil embargo, followed in May by sanctions targeting foreign companies that conduct business with certain Cuban state entities. The latter move led leading shipping lines, including Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and France’s CMA CGM—responsible for roughly half of Cuba’s imports—to suspend direct deliveries to the island.

As a result, much of Cuba’s food and medical imports have been stuck offshore or rerouted to third countries such as Panama and Mexico, generating significant additional costs. Humanitarian organizations face mounting logistical challenges due to what officials call “overcompliance” by companies seeking to avoid potential sanctions penalties by refusing to handle any shipments to Cuba, regardless of their contents. The World Health Organization has been forced to cancel planned deliveries of cancer drugs, while the Pan American Health Organization reports thousands of vials of chemotherapy medication undelivered after airlines cut flights amid fuel shortages.

The shortage of jet fuel has further curtailed air freight capacity, an important channel for critical medical supplies. Some air shipments have required costly special charters, and prolonged delays have left hospitals and patients with acute deficits in vital equipment and medicines. Cuban doctors and charity groups say alternatives, such as using improvised materials in place of standard medical supplies, have become a distressing reality.

Cuba’s crumbling electrical grid, which has caused nationwide blackouts this year, remains vulnerable as critical spare parts donated by Uruguay have stalled due to shipping refusals. Prices of basic foodstuffs such as chicken and eggs have more than doubled, making meals inaccessible for many, while the number of patients awaiting surgery has reached an estimated 100,000, including thousands of children.

While the U.S. State Department underscores that its sanctions intend to hold the Cuban government and military-linked conglomerate GAESA accountable for economic mismanagement and repression, Cuban officials denounce the embargo as a deliberate act of cruelty. Cuban Ambassador Rodolfo Benítez Verson has reported over 7,000 stranded containers and criticized the policy as punishing ordinary Cubans.

Shipping lines have offered differing responses. Hapag-Lloyd characterized its departure from the Cuba route as a business decision and expressed willingness to find solutions for stranded cargo. CMA CGM has resumed limited services for approved goods, including agricultural products and medical supplies, though backlogs are expected to persist for months.

Some countries sympathetic to Cuba have resorted to military transport to bypass commercial disruptions. Mexico’s navy has delivered staple foodstuffs, while the Brazilian Air Force has flown in powdered milk shipments. However, Brazilian officials caution that fears of U.S. sanctions still limit the scope of their aid.

The combined impact of these measures has caused Cuba’s imports to plummet sharply, with Brazilian and Mexican exports to the island falling over 90 percent compared with the previous year. Industry experts estimate that up to two-thirds of container shipping capacity to Cuba has vanished.

The humanitarian consequences are evident at local soup kitchens struggling to maintain operations amid diminishing supplies, as well as among families coping with food insecurity and limited medical care. The situation poses a growing challenge both for international aid efforts and the Cuban population enduring an increasingly dire economic and social crisis.