"Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez attended the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) for the official welcome ceremony of the members of the international 'Nuestra America' convoy in Havana on Saturday. The mission is made up of more than 600 members from 33 countries, a part of around 140 political, social, trade union organisations and solidarity groups that have joined efforts to support the Cuban people, with food and essential supplies in the face of the US blockade. Footage captured on Saturday shows dozens of activists of different nationalities gathered, carrying signs with slogans such as: 'Puerto Rico Present. 'Nuestra America Flotilla' and 'Cuba is not alone'. During his speech, the Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International organisation described the US blockade as a ‘siege’ - an "oil encirclement that no country in the world could withstand as the Cuban people." Puerto Rican member of the 'Nuestra America' convoy Brianna Alvarado said she hopes sanctions on Cuba will be lifted so "that the Cuban people can live and [be] in peace." "I believe that more than ever, the United States should be isolated from the world for what they are doing. If not in Cuba, in Venezuela, in Iran, in Puerto Rico, in all the countries of the world. I believe that yes, the United States deserves sanctions," she added. Fellow convoy member Despina Margu noted that Cuba is going through a "very critical and crucial moment" and asserted that the US government should have been "sanctioned several times and for many years already" over its hostility towards Havana. "Unfortunately, that does not happen. International law has been completely trampled, so we do not have that kind of hope," she added. Of the group, 120 activists are already present on the island, with others expected from Chile, the United States and Mexico. According to local media, the ‘solidarity caravan’ that arrived in Cuba between Friday and Saturday is carrying around 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid, amid a severe energy crisis in the Caribbean nation."