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The government of Venezuela sent more than 46 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba and Jamaica on Thursday, in a gesture of regional solidarity following the devastating effects of Hurricane Melissa, which caused loss of life and severe damage in the Caribbean.
Of the total, 26 tons were sent to the island and another 20 to Jamaica, as confirmed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil and state media such as Fuser News and VTV.
The shipment, transported by the airline Conviasa from the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, includes food, medical supplies, and construction materials to address the emergency in the most affected areas.
The shipment, Gil specified, coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Cuba-Venezuela Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, an alliance driven by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro which, according to the Foreign Minister, "was the seed of what today is ALBA, a Latin American project that goes beyond trade and is based on the solidarity of our peoples."
Accompanied by the Deputy Minister for the Caribbean, Raúl Li Causi, and the Cuban ambassador in Caracas, Jorge Luis Mayo, the official emphasized that in the upcoming days a ship will depart with more than 3,000 additional tons of aid headed to the island.
From Havana, the Cuban Foreign Ministry publicly expressed gratitude for the shipment and described it as “a new demonstration of brotherhood between two peoples that share history and resilience.”
Mistrust and calls for transparency
However, the context in Cuba is more complex. While the arrival of international aid brings relief, skepticism is growing among citizens regarding how the government manages these resources.
In recent days, Germany and Norway also announced donations of 330,000 and 400,000 dollars respectively, funneled through the UN Emergency Fund (CERF), while The United States offered to send aid “directly to the Cuban people, without intermediaries from the regime.”
Despite these gestures, many Cubans have expressed their distrust towards state distribution, recalling previous episodes where international donations did not reach the victims or were resold in official stores.
"Let the aid reach the people, not the government," was the most repeated demand on social media after news of the new shipments emerged.
Civil society against official barriers
While the government opens bank accounts to receive donations in Cuban pesos, independent projects like “Dar es dar,” driven by activists within the island, have launched campaigns to collect food, clothing, and medicine intended for the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, and Guantánamo.
However, these initiatives face bureaucratic obstacles and state surveillance, which makes it difficult to deliver aid directly to the communities most affected by the hurricane.
The contrast between international solidarity and internal reality reflects an old Cuban dilemma, where the lack of governmental transparency in handling aid leads to the perception that it does not always reach those who need it most.
As shipments of support continue from various countries, the population demands transparency and real access to resources, at a time when the eastern part of the country remains devastated by the rains, blackouts, and the loss of homes caused by Melissa.
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