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In a new episode of external dependence, Cuba will receive 7,110 tons of humanitarian aid sent by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a shipment that highlights the precarious situation of the country and the lack of preparedness of the Havana regime to face the devastation caused by the hurricane Melissa.
In a video published by TeleSUR on the social media platform X, Peña, the executive secretary of the organization, explained that the ship "Manuel Gual" - departed last Friday towards Santiago de Cuba - is carrying materials for road repairs, 76 containers of food, and five excavators, essential elements to support the recovery of areas heavily affected a month ago by the cyclone.
"The people of Cuba should also know that President Miguel Díaz-Canel is in constant contact with the team of experts we sent there, who are assisting in the restoration of the electrical grid," Peña stated.
According to the executive secretary, in recent weeks ALBA has sent more than 12,000 tons of supplies aimed at supporting affected communities. The shipments have included food, medicine, toys, and windows for the reconstruction of damaged homes, Telesur reported.
Melissa: a devastating impact for Cuba
The hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba at the end of October, entering from the southeast and exiting seven hours later to the northeast, with winds of up to 200 km/h and rainfall that reached 400 mm in some areas of the country.
The cyclone left a critical scene: massive power outages, total and partial collapses of homes and infrastructure, impassable roads, communication failures, and severe flooding.
UN: "The magnitude of the disaster is enormous."
The United Nations recently warned EFE that the scale of the disaster exceeds initial estimates and that Cuban authorities are "overwhelmed" by the magnitude of the population's needs.
According to Francisco Pichón, the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba: more than 3.5 million people were affected; over 90,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 100,000 hectares of crops suffered severe damage
International aid as Cuba faces a deep crisis
The most recent shipment from ALBA is part of an international effort aimed at alleviating the humanitarian crisis facing the Island, which is already affected by blackouts, shortages, collapsed infrastructure, and a state apparatus with limited capacity to address an emergency of this magnitude.
The arrival of the shipment aims to accelerate the recovery of essential services and support thousands of families who are still living among the rubble, struggling to access food, clean water, and electricity.
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