The donation from the “people of the United States” will be distributed in the four dioceses of the eastern region of Cuba.
MIAMI, United States. — A second shipment of humanitarian aid from the United States and destined to support 6,000 families affected by Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba arrived this Friday at the “Antonio Maceo” International Airport in Santiago de Cuba. as reported by Caritas Cuba.
The donation from the “people of the United States” will be distributed in the four dioceses of the eastern region of Cuba: Bayamo-Manzanillo, Holguín-Las Tunas, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo-Baracoa. The organization specified that the shipment includes 528 non-perishable food kits and 660 hygiene kits.
Caritas Cuba described the shipment as “a gesture of charity and solidarity” whose purpose is “to alleviate some of the needs in the communities that suffered the greatest impact of the meteorological phenomenon.” The delivery and distribution of assistance, he added, is coordinated “through the Catholic Church and Cáritas Cuba,” with priority for “the most vulnerable.”
According to the information published, the donation will be transferred to the community of El Cobre, from where “the free distribution of each module” will be carried out through the volunteering of the Church and the diocesan Cáritas of Santiago de Cuba.
Last Wednesday the US Government announced that, fulfilling its “commitment to deliver 3 million dollars” to the “Cuban people affected by Hurricane Melissa”, was sending the first shipment of humanitarian aid to the Island.
“Our humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to support the Cuban people in their search for a better future,” the State Department said in a statement released the same day.
The logistical plan described by Washington included charter flights departing from Miami on January 14 and 16. The first arrived in Holguín last Wednesday.
On each flight, the United States plans to deliver “more than 525 food packages and 650 hygiene and water treatment packages,” with a reach of “more than 1,000 families” per flight. To complete the rest of the shipment, the statement indicates that a commercial ship, scheduled to dock in Santiago de Cuba “in a few weeks,” will transport the missing part of the aid.
The State Department specified some components of the support: in food, it mentioned packages with rice, beans, oil and sugar so that families cover “basic nutritional needs.” In hygiene and water treatment, he cited purifying tablets and storage containers “to store drinking water.” It also indicated the inclusion of kitchen packs with pots and utensils to facilitate meal preparation, as well as household items including sheets and blankets, solar lanterns to provide light during power outages, and “other essential items.”
The US Secretary of State, the Cuban-American Marco Rubio, announced the shipment in his
Last Wednesday, after the arrival of the first shipment of humanitarian aid from the US, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) accused Washington of using that support for “opportunistic purposes and political manipulation.”
In a official statementthe Foreign Ministry stated that the assistance announced by the Donald Trump Administration—valued at $3 million—was publicly disclosed without prior coordination between both governments. According to the text, the Cuban authorities learned the details of the shipment through the Catholic Church, which acts as an intermediary with humanitarian organizations in the United States.
