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Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, publicly rejected the offer of humanitarian aid made by the Government of the United States to the Cuban people after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
In a message posted this Thursday on the social network X, Morales Ojeda expressed his "outrage" at the gesture of the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who announced Washington's readiness to send “direct” assistance to the victims in eastern Cuba.
“Outrageous offer of help to hurricane victims by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If there were a genuine willingness from that government to support our people, they would have unconditionally lifted the criminal blockade and removed us from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, where we never should have been,” wrote the Cuban official.
The message confirms the regime's usual stance, which prioritizes its political narrative and confrontation with the United States over the urgent needs of the population, even in the midst of a natural disaster, like the one caused by Hurricane Melissa.
While thousands of families in the eastern part of the country remain without electricity, water, or housing, the Cuban leadership dismisses any international cooperation that does not go through its hands.
In that same official narrative of confrontation, Deputy Minister Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo stated on X: "If the United States government has any minimal concern for 'helping the Cuban people,' it should suspend or make humanitarian exceptions to the blockade due to the damage caused and being caused by Hurricane Melissa."
It seems that the regime's leadership intends to use the suffering of the population as a bargaining chip to fill their coffers.
The responses from Morales and Rodríguez contrast with the tone of the statement issued by the State Department, in which Rubio specified that U.S. aid would be funneled directly to the Cuban people or through local partners, avoiding the regime's mediation.
In this regard, the U.S. Department of State published a detailed guide this Thursday to facilitate the sending of private humanitarian aid donations to the Cuban people following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which caused severe damage in several provinces of the island.
The document, titled “Providing Private Donations of Humanitarian Assistance to the Cuban People After Hurricane Melissa”, explains the legal mechanisms and licenses that allow sending food, medicine, and other essential supplies to Cuba, despite the existing embargo.
"While the embargo remains in effect, the U.S. government prioritizes support for the Cuban people," states the announcement, which emphasizes that there are exemptions and authorizations in U.S. laws for the shipment of humanitarian products and disaster response.
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