A comprehensive search and rescue operation is presently under way in the Caribbean Sea for a pair of lost boats transporting aid cargo traveling from Mexico to Cuba.
Authorities in Mexico has dispatched naval assets and search planes to search for the Friendship and Tigger Moth, which were had on board a minimum of 9 sailors, as stated by a military release.
The boats had been expected to make landfall in Havana on the early part of the week, but there has been no communication from them and no official word of their safe arrival, the navy said.
The island nation has depended significantly on Mexico's over the last several weeks, as the island grapples with multiple national electricity failures.
"The skippers and their teams are veteran seafarers, and each boat are outfitted with proper safety systems and signalling equipment," an official for the convoy commented.
The nine crew members are citizens of Poland, France, Cuba and the US. Officials said it has opened communications with coast guard agencies from the involved countries along with their consular staff.
"We are collaborating completely with the officials and remain confident in the capability of the sailors to safely arrive in Havana," the statement continued.
Previously that week, the government in Havana widely celebrated and officially received a separate vessel that had delivered 14 tonnes of donated goods to the nation.
That vessel, nicknamed "Granma 2.0" in reference to the vessel in which the revolutionary leader came back to Cuba to start the Cuban Revolution in the mid-20th century, carried solar panels, drugs, baby formula, bikes and foodstuffs.
Volunteers and NGOs have primarily led efforts to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba since January, when a oil sanctions on the country was initiated.
The United Nations have since raised alarms about ""severe" lack of essential goods, with over 50,000 operations called off in Cuba due to energy rationing.
Diplomatic measures have been ramped up in recent months, with remarks from various officials highlighting the complicated situation regarding bilateral relations.
Reacting to previous proposals, a prominent Cuban official declared that "the socialist system of Cuba is non-negotiable."
Accounts suggest that early stages of discussions were initiated, although their present status remains uncertain.
The naval forces stated it was dedicated to using all of the resources at its disposal to discover the boats and ensure the safety of the people on board.
At this time, there has been silence on the lost ships by the government in Havana.
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