Search and rescue teams and disaster assistance sent by the U.S. arrived this week in Jamaica as part of humanitarian aid.
Last Friday, the U.S. Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) arrived to coordinate humanitarian aid following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, reported the U.S. Department of State on X.
The information specifies that DART will work with the Government of Jamaica and local partners to assist those most affected.
A day earlier, the USA-01 urban search and rescue team had arrived, and among their priorities will be to “establish an operating base and collaborate with Jamaican authorities to ensure that our operations meet their needs. All team members are safe and ready to work,” according to a post on X from the brigade.
This week, while Hurricane Melissa battered the Caribbean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio held discussions with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas to coordinate response and assistance.
The legislator assured that rescue and response teams are heading to the affected areas, along with vital supplies, and expressed his "prayers" for the people of the Caribbean.
One day later, Rubio announced the U.S. government's intention to provide "immediate" humanitarian aid to Cubans affected by Hurricane Melissa, and clarified that he plans to do so without intermediaries from the regime.
The initial statement was made through his account on the social media platform X, where the Republican official avoided going into detail but made it clear that the island is joining the group of countries that will be able to receive assistance from Washington.
"We are ready to provide immediate humanitarian aid to the Cuban people affected by the hurricane," Rubio stated succinctly.
The statements from the Cuban-American prompted several contradictory and arrogant responses from high-ranking Cuban officials who, rather than expressing concern for the humanitarian tragedy, have chosen to engage in political confrontation.
On Friday, the Cuban government stated that the United States has not made any concrete offer of humanitarian aid following the passage of Melissa.
The statement was made by Johana Tablada, Deputy Director-General of the United States Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), who stated that the Cuban embassy in Washington reached out to the State Department “regarding what was published,” but that so far “the United States has not made any concrete offer nor has it responded to the questions” raised about the announced assistance.
According to Tablada, other countries and UN agencies have already made offers that are in the process of being finalized, and he reiterated that "in no case has the Cuban government set extraordinary conditions."
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