The Brazilian government announced that it will send, this week, a shipment of food and inputs destined for agricultural production in Cuba, within the framework of a bilateral cooperation program. The information was released by the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira, during the 39th Regional Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for Latin America and the Caribbean, which began last Monday (2), in Brasília (DF).

The minister clarified that the supplies will be purchased within Brazilian territory using resources provided by the government itself and subsequently made available to the Caribbean island.

"Brazil will send aid to Cuba this week for the purchase of inputs destined for agricultural production. This purchase will be made in Brazil. We will provide the resources. We will also send food to Cuba," Teixeira stated when questioned by the Prensa Latina news agency.

According to the Cuban news agency, the aid is part of a program coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, which is linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The donations come after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening sanctions against any country that “directly or indirectly” sells or supplies oil to Cuba. This measure, according to the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, has transformed the fuel shortage “ into the main multiplier of humanitarian risks ” and has exacerbated the crisis facing the island over the past month.

President Lula spoke out against the unilateral measure taken by the United States. On February 7th, during the 46th anniversary of the Workers' Party (PT) in Salvador, Bahia, Lula stated that Cuba is a victim of a "massacre fueled by American speculation" and emphasized that "our country stands in solidarity with the Cuban people. And we, as a party, must find ways to help."

Furthermore, several Brazilian social and labor organizations condemned the measure and promoted donation campaigns in support of the island. The Solidarity Campaign with Cuba — promoted by social and labor movements — recently sent an initial shipment of 1,700 kilograms of priority medicines destined for hospitals in the province of Santiago de Cuba, affected by Hurricane Melissa .

According to the organizers, the initiative responds to the shortages caused by the economic blockade imposed by the United States for more than six decades, recently reinforced with new sanctions in the energy sector.

In a statement, the MDA (Ministry of Agrarian Development) informed that the volume of humanitarian aid to Cuba is still unknown, as are the dates on which the shipments will be sent. "Future details will be communicated to the press."

Solidarity from Brazil

Brazilian cooperation with Cuba is not an isolated event . At the end of last year, the Brazilian government delivered a donation consisting of ten tons of dehydrated food, 50 water purifiers, and medicine kits.

The donations were intended to help those affected by Hurricane Melissa, classified by the United Nations (UN) as a "huge" catastrophe, which, at the end of October, hit the east of the island with category three on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

It is estimated that Brazil's aid has benefited more than 5,500 people in the country's eastern provinces. At the event, the Brazilian ambassador in Havana, Christian Vargas, highlighted that cooperation between the two countries has strengthened since 2023, with the relaunch of more than ten technical cooperation projects in areas such as health, education, and agricultural production.

Solidarity in Latin America

With the recent announcement from the Brazilian government, Brazil joins the efforts that have also been undertaken by Claudia Sheinbaum's government to strengthen cooperation with the Caribbean island.

After an initial shipment of 800 tons of food, last Saturday (28), two Mexican Navy ships docked in Havana Bay with a second shipment of humanitarian aid that included 1,200 tons of food, plus an additional 23 tons collected by social organizations with the support of the Government of Mexico City.

According to an announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who described the United States' intention to impose tariffs on countries exporting oil to the island as "very unfair," humanitarian aid shipments will continue as long as the government takes "all necessary diplomatic actions to restore oil shipments" to the island, ensuring that " a people cannot be strangled like that ."

The US is “stonewalling” requests by some Gulf states to replenish their air defence interceptors as pressure mounts on them to join the US and Israel in their war on Iran, one western official and one former US official familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. At least one Gulf state that has come under attack from Iran asked US officials about replenishing supplies that have been depleted since the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, but was brushed off, the former US official familiar with the discussions said. In a separate case, another Gulf state responded to US requests to use air bases in their country with enquiries about the US’s commitment to their air defence systems, a western official familiar with the matter told MEE. But the former US official familiar with conversations in the administration told MEE that Gulf states would be left wanting if they expect new supplies of interceptors.

“Whatever munitions were produced in the last couple of months, we have shot several years' worth of production in the last few days,” the former official said.

YOU STARTED THIS WAR HOW DID YOU NOT EXPECT THIS

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have all been targeted with Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, but the countries closest to Iran -Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE - have borne the brunt of the assaults. Qatar announced on Monday that it shot down two Iranian Su-24 fighter jets. The UAE said on Monday it had destroyed 814 of the 871 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired at it since Saturday. As a general rule, defenders are expected to fire two to three interceptors to down an incoming missile. The UAE operates Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) ballistic missile defence systems as well as Patriot Pac-3 surface-to-air missile systems. The UAE also has South Korean, Russian and Israeli air defence systems, as well as a domestic short-range air defence system called Skynight. The UAE's interception rate is above 90 percent, according to the government’s tally, but Thaad and Patriot interceptors are costly and take years to make. “The UAE has now burned through a significant chunk of an interceptor stockpile that took years to build,” Kelly Grieco, an expert at the Stimson Center, wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed, on Monday. An Emirati readout of the call said the two discussed “the blatant Iranian attacks” on the UAE and other Gulf states. Bahrain says it has intercepted and shot down at least 45 ballistic missiles and drones. Neither the former US nor western official said there have been formal denials, but that Gulf states have been discouraged from asking for refills. Firas Maksad, the Middle East director at the Eurasia Group, told MEE, citing US sources, that the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier was leaving the Mediterranean on Monday en route to the Gulf. That movement would suggest the Trump administration may be trying to address some of the Gulf states security complaints.

Mexico City, March 2 (Prensa Latina) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum registered a 72 percent approval rating in February, according to the latest El Financiero poll published today.

The survey consulted 1,300 adults by telephone, 900 of them interviewed from February 13 to 21, before the operation against Nemesio Oseguera, "El Mencho", leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and 400 people after that action carried out on February 22.

Considering the interviews before and after that date, the president's approval rating rose from 68 to 76 percent, the newspaper's digital edition points out, noting that giving equal weight to the interviews before and after, the poll shows 72 percent support, three points higher than in January.

According to the study, 82 percent rated the government's operation to arrest "El Mencho" as good or very good, while 77 percent of those consulted believed that these actions were correct and 21 percent labeled it a mistake.

Eighty-one percent said that the operation in Jalisco represents progress in security policy, while 14 percent saw it as a setback.

The study asked respondents to evaluate people and institutions involved in the operation carried out in Jalisco, including the Secretary of Security, Omar García, who received 81 percent good or very good ratings, and 13 percent bad or very bad ratings.

For his part, the head of Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, obtained 74 percent favorable evaluations and 16 percent unfavorable ones.

The Army was the best rated, with 88 percent positive opinions, followed by the National Guard and the Navy, with 85 percent each.

Regarding the monthly performance indicators, in the economy the favorable opinion went from 48 to 56 percent and in security, from 40 to 45.

In the military operation carried out by the Army in Tapalpa, “El Mencho” was seriously wounded and died during his transfer by air to a medical institution.

The death of the man, one of the most wanted drug traffickers, sparked a reaction from organized crime with roadblocks, vehicle burnings, and attacks on law enforcement in that and other states, which gradually returned to normal after the government's rapid response.

Formatting is a little messed up but I cba fixing it

The most outspoken government in the region was Muslim-majority Malaysia, an outspoken critic of Israel that has for years ~maintained friendly relations~ with the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a ~statement~, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry condemned both the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as the retaliatory Iranian missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. “At this critical juncture, all parties must exercise maximum restraint to prevent further escalation that could destabilize the region and carry wider global consequences,” it stated. However, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was ~more outspoken~, condemning “unreservedly” the assassination of Ali Khamenei and arguing that the strikes have brought the Middle East to “the edge of grave and sustained instability.” He also promised to table a parliamentary motion condemning the attacks on Iran. “The cruelty of Zionist Israel never stops because they have lost all sense of humanity,” he ~said at a fast-breaking ceremony~ yesterday.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a ~statement~ calling on all parties “to exercise restraint and to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy.” It also reiterated the “importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country and resolving differences through peaceful means.” Meanwhile, President Prabowo Subianto has said he was ~willing to travel to Tehran~ “to conduct mediation,” although no party has expressed any support for his proposal so far.

Meanwhile, acting Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Panidone Pachimsawat ~told reporters~ that Bangkok is “closely monitoring the situation with grave concern.” He added that the 110,000 Thai nationals in the Middle East, the majority of whom work in Israel, has been placed on alert and that a plan for their evacuation “has been prepared.” Forty-six Thai nationals ~were killed~ in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, most of them during Hamas’ attack into southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

In a statement, the DFA said that ~no Filipinos had been injured~ in the initial attacks, but that the Philippine embassies in Tehran, Iran and Tel Aviv were “on full alert.” Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro ~called on all parties~ to “resort immediately” to dialogue and negotiations.

Most of the other governments in the region issued statements calling for various variations of restraint. At a ~press briefing~ on Saturday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said that her government “calls upon all relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately end all escalatory actions, protect civilians and essential infrastructure, and resolve differences through peaceful means in strict accordance with international law, the United Nations Charter, and relevant U.N. resolutions.”

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ~stated~that it “regrets the failure of negotiations” and the outbreak of war and similarly urged all parties “to return to negotiations to achieve a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter.” Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry similarly ~called on~ “all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation that would harm civilian lives and undermine peace.”