The Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX) confirmed the holding of an exchange between specialists from the Island and the United States on the work of cleaning up and environmental rehabilitation in the area affected by the recent fire in Matanzas.
In a published note On its website, the Cuban Foreign Ministry reported that a virtual meeting on the subject took place on August 24 between national experts, involved in these tasks, and US specialists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ).
According to the statement, the meeting took place “in a professional and fruitful exchange environment” and during it “both parties discussed possible ways of cooperation to achieve the rehabilitation of the most affected areas.”
US specialists and #Cuba They exchange experiences in sanitation and environmental rehabilitation tasks related to the disaster in Matanzas.
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— Cuban Foreign Ministry (@CubaMINREX) August 26, 2022
The Cuban delegation, according to the MINREX, was made up of specialists from CITMA, the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Institute of Hydraulic Resources, and addressed with their North American counterparts “the main tasks undertaken since the fire was declared extinguished,” a fact described in the note as “unprecedented in Cuba with limited experience”.
Likewise, “it asked the counterparty for its assessment of the actions already carried out and the possibility of accessing the most innovative techniques and procedures accumulated both by the EPA, as well as by companies linked to the oil sector and other agencies involved in these types of accidents” adds the Foreign Ministry.
The note, on the other hand, does not detail the US response to the report and the requests from the Cuban side, nor does it anticipate possible new contacts between the experts from both countries.
After the fire broke out on August 5, which left 16 dead and more than a hundred injured, as well as significant material damage, authorities from both countries confirmed be in contact regarding the incident, as well as the offer of technical advice by the United States to Cuba.
However, with the passing of days, and the arrival on the island of forces and technical means from Mexico and Venezuela to fight the fire, various rumors and criticisms spread about the contacts between Havana and Washington, which affirmed that Cuba did not had agreed to receive aid from the United States, or that, on the contrary, it was the latter that had refused to collaborate with the Caribbean country.
In this regard, on August 9, the Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, assured on Twitter that there was “frequent communication” between the two countries and reiterated that the US authorities had conveyed their condolences to Cuba for the incident and offered technical advice, “which we also thanked and accepted”.
“There are plenty of speculations,” then the deputy head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry closed his tweet. P
Previously, the United States Embassy in Cuba had stated in a tweet that Washington was waiting “in case Cuba requires humanitarian or technical assistance,” which caused various reactions among the platform’s user community.
