Ventilators bound for Barbados held by US

A batch of ventilators bound for Barbados as a philanthropic gift were diverted by the United States, according to the Caribbean island nation's top health official. He said an investigation is under way.

Barbados Minister of Health and Wellness Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said at a news conference on Sunday that a batch of 20 ventilators donated to the Barbados government were barred from export.

"They were seized in the United States. Paid for, but seized, so we are trying to see exactly what is going to transpire there," Bostic said.

"But I remind you that ventilators are one of the most in-demand items in the world today, and Barbados is merely wrestling with the other 203 countries and territories around the world seeking to secure as many of these pieces of equipment as possible."

He did not specify where in the US the appropriation took place.

Barbados has a population of 288,000. As of Wednesday, it had 63 confirmed cases and three deaths.

Cuban officials also recently complained about the US preventing aid from getting to them, citing the US' six-decade embargo, according to The Miami Herald.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma recently announced that his foundation was shipping 2 million masks, 400,000 rapid test kits and 104 ventilators to 24 countries, including Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

But Cuba's shipment never made it, according to Carlos M. Pereira, Cuba's ambassador to China.

Pereira said on his blog that Ma's foundation tried to send Cuba face masks and COVID-19 diagnostic kits along with other aid including ventilators and gloves, but the airline would not transport them, citing the US embargo, according to The Associated Press.

Cuba currently has 350 positive cases and nine deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.