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While the powerful hurricane Melissa, category 5, approaches eastern Cuba, the province of Santiago de Cuba experiences a scene of social contrasts: long lines at dollar stores, unaffordable prices, and entire neighborhoods where families claim they have neither bread nor milk for their children.
The opponent José Daniel Ferrer García reported on his Facebook account the crowds in front of stores that sell in foreign currency, where the people of Santiago are trying to stock up before the impact of the cyclone.
In her post, she shared a photo of a 25-kilogram bag of powdered milk priced at 243 dollars, equivalent to about 119,000 Cuban pesos at the informal exchange rate.
"Santiago de Cuba: Hurricane Melissa is approaching, long lines for those with money. 25 kilos of powdered milk for 243 USD, 119,000 Cuban pesos, according to the exchange rate on the informal market," wrote the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), who warned that "those who do not have such large sums of money cannot provide milk for their children and elderly family members."
Hunger and abandonment in the south of the province
While some are standing in line to pay in dollars, in the coastal village of Sigua, south of Santiago, neighbors are reporting that they have no food or milk for the children and that the authorities have not provided any assistance in light of the impending arrival of the hurricane. “We are on the brink of a catastrophe, and the government is not facing the situation. No one has come, no one has brought anything… We are desperate,” several residents told independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, who shared a video of the complaint on social media.
Institutional abandonment is repeated in the municipality of Mella, where, according to journalist Mario J. Pentón, the regime distributed to those over 65 a “food package” that included a pack of cigarettes, a can of sardines, and a package of spaghetti. The delivery, supposedly intended to support the elderly during the hurricane, sparked a wave of criticism and mockery on social media. “This is the answer to Díaz-Canel's question about what failing state would do such a thing. The sardines are only for those over 65,” Pentón quipped.
Scenes of desperation in Santiago
Food insecurity and fear of the cyclone also triggered moments of chaos in the city. Dozens of people threw themselves at a truck carrying ground beef that was driving along Avenida Martí, in a scene that witnesses described as “social cannibalism.” “There were even stabbings. People are out of control, hungry, and afraid of the hurricane,” a local resident told the media. The stampede, captured on video, shows entire families fighting over a package of food while the authorities initially remained passive.
Hurricane Melissa: a Category 5 monster
The latest report from the Cuban Meteorology Institute (INSMET) confirmed that hurricane Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 280 km/h, gusts exceeding 300 km/h, and a central pressure of 901 hPa, making it one of the most intense cyclones recorded in the Caribbean in decades.
Its trajectory places it 400 kilometers southwest of Santiago de Cuba, and it is expected to make direct landfall during the early morning of Wednesday, October 29, bringing torrential rains that could exceed 400 millimeters in mountainous and coastal areas, along with swells producing waves as high as seven meters. INSMET warned that the early morning will be critical and urged heightened precautionary measures, especially in the provinces of Granma, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba, where preventive evacuations are already underway.
A crisis that the regime cannot contain
The images of long lines, scenes of desperation, and inadequate aid contrast sharply with the official discourse of the regime, which seeks to present an image of "organization and control" in the face of the emergency. However, the reality in the streets of Santiago reveals a population overwhelmed by hunger, scarcity, and a lack of genuine assistance.
“This is not theft, it’s hunger,” said an elderly woman after picking up a packet from the ground beef truck, in a statement that encapsulates the desperation of thousands of Cubans who are, once again, facing the aftermath of a hurricane without food, without resources, and without a government to protect them.
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