The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, said this Thursday that Washington “is prepared” to offer “immediate” humanitarian aid to the “people of Cuba affected” by the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
“We are prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba affected by the hurricane,” Rubio wrote in
We are prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba affected by the Hurricane
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 30, 2025
The head of US diplomacy, of Cuban origin, had left Cuba off the list, ensuring that the US was in “close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas” due to the ravages of Melissa and that US rescue teams were heading to the affected areas.
In this new message, Rubio mentions the case of Cuba, but does not provide details of how this aid would be coordinated with the Havana government, if it would have to formally request it from the Administration or if there are ways to make it effective.
The State Department communicated already from its website that it was prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance, “both directly and through local partners who can distribute it more effectively to those who need it.”
“U.S. law includes exemptions and authorizations for private donations of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to Cuba, as well as disaster response. We encourage those who wish to directly support the Cuban people to contact us if they have any questions. You can send your questions to [email protected].”
During his recent presentation at the UN, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said that if the US government had any slightest concern about “helping the Cuban people,” it should “suspend or make humanitarian exceptions to the blockade due to the damage that Hurricane Melissa will cause and is causing.”
Rubio, the Trump Administration and Melissa
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, maintains a strong stance against Castroism and defends maintaining pressure to force a transition to democracy and his distancing from allies hostile to Washington.
“President Donald Trump authorized an immediate response by the United States and directed the State Department to mobilize aid for affected communities,” the Department said in a statement about aid to all affected territories, as quoted EFE.
Hurricane Melissa, which has gone from category 5 to 2, is moving towards Bermuda, where the situation is expected to worsen tonight, after leaving a trail of destruction and fatalities in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba, the National Hurricane Center reported.
The United Nations supports the Cuban population after the passage of Hurricane Melissa
In Cuba it left millions of people without electricity and cut off from communication, flooded and isolated municipalities, collapsed homes, flooded crops and extensive material damage. The United Nations System and countries such as Germany and Colombia have already announced aid for those affected on the island.
In total, it has left at least 32 fatalities: twenty-three deaths in Haiti, four in Jamaica, four in Panama and one in the Dominican Republic, according to EFE.
