US sends first humanitarian flight to Cuba under new aid package

The U.S. on Tuesday sent a humanitarian flight to Cuba, the State Department said, the first part of a new $100 million assistance commitment that comes alongside U.S. moves to increase pressure on the island’s communist-run government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May said the U.S. was offering Cuba an unprecedented aid package, designed to help Cuba’s people but not its government, even as Washington has blocked most oil shipments to the Caribbean island and piled on financial sanctions.
Cuban officials were initially wary of the aid offer and rejected U.S. calls for political reforms, blaming the U.S. for power outages and shortages, but appear to have agreed to accept the assistance amid talks with Trump administration officials.