The President of the National Defense Council and leader Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed his gratitude this Friday to Pope León XIV, who had voiced his concern two days earlier about the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Cuba and Jamaica.
“Thank you, @Pontifex_es. Your concern and words of encouragement are very important for the Cuban people, who once again demonstrated that with awareness, unity, and solidarity, it is possible to avoid the loss of human lives,” the president wrote on his X account.
On October 29, the Pontiff published on the social network a message stating that the hurricane, “with devastating strength, is crossing Cuba,” causing thousands to be displaced and significant material damage.
“Let us pray together for those who have lost their lives, for those who are fleeing, and for the communities that are living through hours of anguish and worry,” wrote the leader of the Catholic Church, who also expressed gratitude for the work of “civil authorities, Christian communities, and volunteer organizations.”
The hurricane Melissa, which struck eastern Cuba with strong winds and torrential rains, left in its wake severe damage to the National Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, one of the most emblematic Catholic temples in the country and a symbol of the faith of the Cuban people.
In parallel, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) issued a message on X highlighting that "in Cuba, efforts continue to preserve people's lives, and where feasible, recovery has already begun."
The text, accompanied by the hashtag #FuerzaCuba, states that "authorities, organizations, and the people" are "focused on life and recovery."
The PCC's speech maintains the triumphalist rhetoric expressed the day before by the ruler, who asserted that Cuba had achieved “two victories for life”, referring to the confrontation with Hurricane Melissa and the UN vote concerning the United States embargo against Cuba.
Also this Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla expressed his sorrow for the victims of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean and conveyed “solidarity and support” to the governments of Haiti and Jamaica, noting that the cyclone resulted in 30 and 19 fatalities in those countries, respectively.
His message shared through X came in the midst of growing criticism of the official Cuban discourse regarding the handling of the emergency in the eastern part of the island.
Díaz-Canel assessed the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba on Friday and then traveled to Guantánamo, while isolated communities, destroyed homes, and severe agricultural damage continue to persist.
One day earlier he visited Holguín, another of the provinces most affected by Melissa, whose torrential rains caused rivers to overflow, urban drainage systems to collapse, and entire communities to be isolated.
Meanwhile, rescue and evacuation efforts continue in areas severely affected by flooding, especially in the eastern part of the country, where hundreds of families have lost everything.
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