The diplomat wants to “better understand the needs of the population after Hurricane Melissa.”
MIAMI, United States. – The United States Embassy in Cuba announced this Wednesday on X that his head of mission, Mike Hammer, had met with bishops from the eastern region “to better understand the needs of the population after Hurricane Melissa and to coordinate the $3 million in humanitarian assistance that the US Government is providing directly to the most affected Cubans.”
Previously, the State Department had announced that Washington, in coordination with the Catholic Church, would distribute $3 million in humanitarian aid “directly to the people in eastern Cuba most affected by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.”
Our Chief of Mission Mike Hammer met with Bishops of Oriente to better understand the needs of the population after Hurricane Melissa and to coordinate the $3 million in humanitarian assistance that the US government is providing directly to the most… pic.twitter.com/ps6yuCN1Az
— United States Embassy in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) November 12, 2025
In parallel, the Cuban Government reported that it would accept the offer, channeled “through the United States Catholic Aid Service,” but stressed that this cooperation has been materialized “successfully in full coordination” with the authorities of the Island. “These humanitarian gestures are appreciated,” he added. the statement reproduced by the official newspaper Granma.
The vice prime minister and head of MINCEX, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, declared this Tuesday that, regarding the US contribution of 3 million dollars, “nothing has been received or materialized.” In that same intervention, he detailed that UN agencies and some 27 countries have sent supplies and equipment for the initial response.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC) has reported that maintains “useful and positive conversations with all parties” to make the delivery effective, within the framework of a “catastrophic situation” in the eastern dioceses.
The exchange between Washington and Havana began at the end of October, when the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos F. de Cossío, stated in X: “We have contacted the State Department and are awaiting clarification on how and in what way they are willing to help.”
On November 3, MINCEX published that the Catholic Church of Cuba had officially announced the offer of assistance “worth 3 million dollars, through the Catholic Aid Service of the United States that the government of that country would provide,” along with another donation “through its own efforts” from the Archdiocese of Miami; and emphasized his “positive experience of years of cooperation (…) in full coordination with our authorities.”
Since then, the official narrative has insisted that the Cuban State “assumes the main recovery efforts,” although it recognizes the “valuable complement” of international aid.
