Díaz-Canel visits Río Cauto after the historic floods caused by Melissa: "Has the water receded yet?"

The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez visited the town of El Recreo in the municipality of Cauto Cristo (Granma) on Tuesday, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa, whose passage caused the overflow of the Cauto River, the largest river on the island.

During the visit, recorded in a video and several posts on Facebook, the leader can be heard asking the neighbors: “Has the water receded?”, a question that seems disconnected from the magnitude of the disaster.

A community still underwater

The community of El Recreo, with a population of just 234 residents across 102 houses, remains partially flooded following the cyclone. According to Yunay Gertrudis Rivera Peña, the delegate of the district, “the experience of Hurricane Melissa surpassed all previous ones,” as water from the runoff in Granma and Holguín inundated homes, destroyed roofs, and damaged all the belongings of the residents.

The main damage is concentrated in agriculture and livestock, with the total loss of crops such as cassava, pumpkin, sweet potato, plantain, and vegetables, as well as small livestock. Residents, many of whom are still in shelters, report that homes remain underwater, although the water level has decreased slightly in the past few hours.

Official promises and popular skepticism

Díaz-Canel, accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, and other leaders of the PCC, assured that “the Revolution will not leave anyone abandoned” and urged for “unity to confront recovery.”

However, on social media and in community groups, there are numerous comments denouncing the slow delivery of aid, the lack of transparency in local management, and a sense of state abandonment.

Several residents claim that the emergency operations have been inadequate and that the official priority seems to be political propaganda rather than direct assistance to those affected.

Context: Melissa and the disaster in eastern Cuba

Hurricane Melissa, a category 5, left a devastating picture in eastern Cuba: massive flooding, destroyed homes, and severe agricultural losses. Municipalities such as Río Cauto, Cauto Cristo, Jiguaní, and Bayamo are among the most affected.

While the government attempts to demonstrate control and institutional presence, thousands of families are facing the emergency without resources, electricity, or drinking water.