The Government of The US assured this Thursday that it did not consult with its Cuban counterpart about humanitarian aid for victims of the Hurricane Melissavalued at three million dollars, and maintained that it will never offer direct help to the island’s authorities.
During a virtual press conference, the acting Undersecretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom, Jeremy Lewin, confirmed that The decision was made without consulting Havana.
“We did not consult the regime if they wanted help, it is not their help. They are not in any position to take care of their people and make decisions about this,” he said, cited by agency EFE.
According to the official, the shipment of food and basic necessities for about 24 thousand people was organized through the Catholic Church in Cubawhich would have caused a delay in the arrival of supplies, which They began arriving almost three months after the hurricane hit.
“The Catholic Church published a public letter stating that it would be willing to accept this, and so far, the regime has not interfered and has provided the Catholic Church with the necessary protections to carry it out,” Lewin added.
The US begins sending $3 million in aid to victims of Hurricane Melissa
US aid
On Wednesday, the US Government sent a plane with 525 food packages, 650 hygiene kits and drinking water for a thousand families to the province of Holguín.
This Another aircraft with similar supplies is expected to land this Friday in Santiago de Cuba.
In addition, a commercial ship must arrive in the coming weeks to that same city with the rest of the aid committed by Washington.
In total, the Trump Administration promised three million dollars in humanitarian assistance for some 6 thousand families, equivalent to 24 thousand people, residents in the provinces most affected by Melissa: Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo.
The response of the Cuban Government
From Havana, the Cuban Government reiterated on Wednesday that it accepts humanitarian aid from the United States, but at the same time accused Washington of trying to use it for “opportunistic and political manipulation” purposes.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that Shipments began arriving 77 days after the natural disaster and without prior official communication between both governments.
In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), it was indicated that, although the US Administration announced since October its intention to send assistance, it was not until January 14 when the State Department publicly reported that a part of it would reach the island.
According to Minrex, Cuban authorities were informed by the Catholic Church that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops would act as a channel to deliver material aid financed by the US Government.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that Cuba accepts international aid, as long as it directly benefits the population and the needs of the victims should not be used “for political gain under the guise of a humanitarian gesture.”
In addition, Havana specified that it accepted the donation “without conditions” and stressed that he considers it a gesture of the American people, whose taxes support the public funds used by their Government.
Cuban authorities reported no fatalities from Hurricane Melissa, the most intense of the hurricane season in the Atlantic, which left more than 100 dead in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Panama.
However, they recognized severe material damage, affecting more than 90 thousand homes, 600 health facilities, more than 2 thousand educational centers, around 100 thousand hectares of crops and numerous transportation, telecommunications, electricity and water infrastructures.
