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In the midst of the chaos left by Hurricane Melissa and an unprecedented economic crisis, the Cuban government denied that oil donated by the World Food Program (WFP) is being sold in the country's stores, after reports circulated on the Internet about the alleged commercialization of this humanitarian product.
"The Ministry of Domestic Trade informs that the news circulating on digital social networks regarding the sale of oil donated by the World Food Program is false," the agency published on Facebook.
According to the official statement, the product "has only been released for social protection centers," while the oil delivered to warehouses is intended "for vulnerable individuals as part of their action plan."
"All donations made by brother countries and international organizations are delivered free of charge to the population," the message assures.
Finally, he urges citizens to get informed "through official channels."
However, the MINCIN publication was met with a flood of comments that contradict the official version.
"Here in San Germán, Holguín, where the cyclone passed, nothing has been given to any vulnerable person," wrote a user.
A woman from Santiago replied, "Which community is receiving the donation? Because in my area, not even the delegate has come, and the water reached above our waists."
In several municipalities in the eastern part of the country, testimonies align: official promises contrast sharply with the reality of thousands of families who have lost everything.
Although the material damage has been enormous, state assistance is conspicuously absent.
In devastated communities, people survive amid mud and scarcity, lacking the resources to recover the possessions that the wind and floods have swept away.
Although this time the news released by the portal Cubita NOW regarding the alleged sale of oil was false, public distrust is indeed justified.
In 2021, during another emergency phase, the Ministry of Internal Trade recognized that it sold donated oil from the WFP in six municipalities of Havana.
That incident, widely documented, sparked strong criticism both within and outside Cuba, as the sale of donated products is prohibited by international regulations.
It was not an isolated case: after Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Cuban government even charged "distribution costs" for clothing, mattresses, and food that were supposed to be free, which caused such outrage that the authorities were forced to amend their actions.
Today, while official sources deny that this practice is being repeated, the population faces a desperate situation, and the scarcity of food turns any humanitarian aid into a matter of survival.
"Today, here where I live in El Caney, Santiago de Cuba, two containers of sausages arrived and hardly anyone got any. Please, we all need food; if you're going to sell something, take it to every butcher shop so that everyone has a chance," pleaded a resident in a post by MINCIN.
In the provinces most affected by the hurricane, the aid that arrives often comes from individuals, churches, or small solidarity groups, not from the State.
In that context, the official version sounds unconvincing to those who, once again, feel that the government is turning its back on them.
Although the authorities insist on denying that donated oil is being sold, for many Cubans, the problem goes beyond this or that delivery: it is the distrust accumulated over years of opacity, the certainty that, amidst the disaster, the population remains abandoned to its fate.
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