US announces $6 million aid for Cuba amid accusations of 'energy blockade'

The US government on Thursday announced an additional USD 6 million in aid for Cuba as the island's crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba's president accusing the US of an "energy blockade."

The aid is largely meant for those living in Cuba's eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year. The supplies include rice, beans, pasta, cans of tuna and solar lamps that will be delivered by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said US Department of State Senior Official Jeremy Lewin.

He warned that officials with the US embassy in Cuba will be out in the field "making sure that the regime does not take the assistance, divert it, try to politicise it."

The US previously sent USD 3 million in disaster relief to Cuban people affected by Melissa.

Lewin rejected that a halt in oil shipments from Venezuela -- after the US attacked the South American country and arrested its then leader -- is responsible for the humanitarian situation in Cuba.