MIAMI, United States. – A ship with humanitarian aid from the United States arrived at the port of Santiago de Cuba this Tuesday, with a shipment destined for people affected by Hurricane Melissa in the east of the Island, according to the United States Embassy in Cuba.
On Facebook, the diplomatic headquarters stated: “A ship arrived in Santiago with humanitarian assistance from the Trump Administration for those most affected by Hurricane Melissa. The United States will continue sending aid as long as it reaches the people directly.”
The humanitarian organization Caritas Cuba reported that the commercial ship arrived with “seven containers” that transport “food and hygiene kits”, a “donation from the North American people” to continue supporting families with “greater vulnerability” after the hurricane passed through the east of the country.
According to Cáritas, once extracted from the port, the supplies will have as their final destination the dioceses of Bayamo-Manzanillo, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, from where they will be distributed.
The head of the United States mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, published a video in the port of Santiago de Cuba in which he confirmed the arrival of the “humanitarian aid sent by the Trump Administration for the most affected by Hurricane Melissa” and said that he was touring the eastern region “to see if the assistance is arriving” and if the United States could “continue sending it to alleviate the suffering and alleviate the conditions of the people a little.”
With this arrival, there are four shipments (three planes and one ship) received and distributed in Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, as well as in communities of Granma.
Last weekend, the chancellor of the Cuban regime, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, criticized in X US aid to the Cuban people, which he described as “a late, limited and overpriced offer of material aid to a group of people with political, grossly opportunistic purposes.”
Last Thursday, Washington announced another $6 million in “direct assistance” for the Cuban population. In a statement, the State Department indicated that the money would be added to previous aid from 3 million dollars.
The United States assured that the distribution of aid through the Catholic Church and Caritas Cuba was a method that had “proven to be highly effective” to prevent “the failed Cuban regime” from interfering or diverting aid destined for “the needy population” of the Island.
The US Government began sending humanitarian aid to the Cuban population affected by Hurricane Melissa on January 14. From the first shipment, sent that day to Holguín, some 6,000 families would have benefited, equivalent to around 24,000 people, in the most affected eastern provinces: Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo.
“Our humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to support the Cuban people in their search for a better future,” assured at that time the State Department.
In total, three flights with humanitarian aid from the United States have arrived on the island. The second arrived on January 16 and the third on January 29.
