Rap group Kneecap says crisis-hit Cuba is being ‘strangled’

Kneecap, the Irish-language rap trio from Belfast, said they joined an international aid convoy to Cuba because they could not stand by while the island — which they described as being “strangled” by a US fuel blockade — suffered acute shortages.

The group travelled with a wider contingent of public figures and humanitarian organisations bringing medicine, drinking water, food, solar panels and other relief supplies to the Caribbean nation this week by air and sea.

Speaking at a Havana press conference flanked by former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Colombian Senator Clara Lopez, the musicians invoked a long history of Irish solidarity with Cuba.

Band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh drew a parallel between Cuba and Gaza, noting Ireland’s own history of colonialism, forced starvation and political repression as a reason for their engagement.

“We see the island of Cuba being strangled,” Ó hAnnaidh said, sitting beside Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

“When you have a platform and an audience, you have a responsibility to use it for what’s right,” he added.

Kneecap attracted international attention last year after Ó hAnnaidh was charged under British anti-terrorism legislation over allegations he displayed a flag linked to the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah during a 2024 concert; a judge later dismissed the case.

Kneecap at a press conference in Havana

‘Stand up’ to Trump?

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday that Mexico had also dispatched another ship loaded with humanitarian aid to Cuba, aiming to assist an ally squeezed by the US-imposed energy blockade.

Mexico had become Cuba’s primary remaining fuel supplier after Venezuelan shipments were halted following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro on 3 January and the subsequent oil restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump.

The loss of steady fuel deliveries has deepened Cuba’s economic crisis, triggering power cuts and shortages after oil supplies were abruptly reduced.

Mr Trump has repeatedly issued threats toward Havana since returning to office, saying on Monday he would “take” the communist-run island.

Organisers of the “Our America” aid convoy said the effort involves more than 500 people from 30 countries across Latin America, North America, Europe and Africa, and that they are delivering over 20 tonnes of humanitarian supplies.

The first shipment from Europe arrived on Wednesday, a flight departed Miami on Friday, and additional vessels have been arriving from Mexico.

At the meeting with Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Jeremy Corbyn acknowledged the relief will not solve the crisis and urged Britain and other European nations to defy US pressure and send oil to the island.

“If France, Germany and Britain instructed an oil tanker to go to Cuba to deliver oil, would the US really bomb that oil tank? Would they really stop that oil tanker going through?” Mr Corbyn asked.

“No. Trump would back down. It is for those countries that have aligned themselves closely with the United States to say enough is enough. Let the Cuban people survive,” he said.