HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The United States (US) and Cuba held talks this week on a US offer of $100 million in assistance for the crisis-hit adversary, a US official said Tuesday.

Mike Hammer, the US ambassador to Havana, met Monday with foreign ministry officials, the State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

“We have been in close coordination with the Cubans. We had a meeting yesterday (Monday) and continue to pursue that proposal aggressively,” the official said.

The aid would be distributed through Christian charities and not handed over directly to the Cuban government, he said.

“We care a tremendous amount about the Cuban people, and want to be able to provide that assistance directly to them.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sworn foe of Havana’s communist government, has publicly offered the $100 million but has demanded that Cuba take steps to open up.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez last week said that Havana was open to reviewing the aid proposal, after earlier saying Rubio was lying about the offer.

Cuba has been in the throes of a major economic crisis with persistent energy blackouts after the United States overthrew Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and ended the flow of free oil from Caracas in exchange for Cuban medical expertise and other services.