HUNDREDS of boxes of humanitarian aid from the United States are being distributed in two towns near the Cuban capital, the Catholic Church organisation in charge of the distribution said Thursday.

The aid arrived this week and its distribution began on Wednesday. 

In late January, US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs against any country that sells or provides oil to the island, which depended heavily on oil shipments from Venezuela that were halted after the illegal and unprovoked US attack on the South American country.

Some 100 people were killed during the US attack during which President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, were kidnapped. Both are still languishing in a New York detention centre.

Caritas began distributing the boxes to unspecified parishes and religious houses in the municipalities of Bejucal and Alquizar, which border Havana, according to a statement from the organisation.

The food and hygiene kits will be distributed “to the most vulnerable Cuban families,” the statement said.

Images released by the organisation showed people unloading brown cardboard boxes depicting the US flag.

Caritas could not be immediately reached for comment.

A plane carrying 700 packages departed Miami on Tuesday, according to the US State Department, which said the shipment is the first in a $60 million (£44m) programme, part of a total of $100m (£74m) planned for distribution in the coming months.

The boxes contain enough food to meet a family’s needs for 10 days, Caritas said.

The items include rice, beans, spaghetti, salt, brown sugar, canned sardines, tuna and oil. The kits also include a solar lamp, water purification tablets, a plastic bucket, bars of soap, detergent, a toothbrush and sanitary napkins.

A statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade said that authorities were present during the aircraft’s arrival, along with Caritas officials.