A group of Cuban evacuees from Hurricane Melissa was recorded aboard a military helicopter as they returned to their homes in the 13 de Agosto community in Santiago de Cuba.
The moment was live-streamed by the user Yordanis Rodríguez on Facebook, who described it as a "humanitarian operation" organized by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) to ensure the return of residents who had been cut off from land communication. In his post, he wrote: “Humanitarian Operation: Residents evacuated from the 13 de Agosto community in Santiago de #Cuba are returning home,” and added that the FAR "have managed to ensure the return home of the residents (...) who had been evacuated due to the lack of land communication,” calling the flight "a significant step towards normalizing life in the region."
The images show several people —including women and children— sitting inside the helicopter alongside their belongings. One of the passengers, with a young girl on her lap, begins to shout, “Long live Cuba!” and the others respond, “Long live!” She then repeats, “Long live the Revolution!”, “Commander in Chief!” and the group replies, “At your command!” At another moment, she can be heard saying, “On the front lines of combat! Melissa wanted to destroy us, but the Revolution is stronger! Long live Cuba, long live Cuba!”
During the broadcast, a journalist from Telesur was accompanying the flight and reported that "these individuals were in remote areas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces evacuated them, and now they are returning to this community, Trece de Agosto. A Telesur team is currently making this journey through Santiago de Cuba." At the back of the helicopter, a Cuban flag can be seen hanging on the rear wall of the compartment.
Hours later, the video was shared on the CiberCuba Noticias, page, where it generated thousands of reactions and comments. "Without even knowing the fate that awaits them or whether their homes will still be standing, these people choose to play along with political propaganda," stated the description of the post, which received extensive commentary from users on the social network.
Among the most notable responses, some users criticized the use of political slogans in an emergency context: “I don’t understand why everything has to turn into a political act, even during an evacuation,” commented one user; “those people don’t know if they have a home to return to, and what they shout is ‘Long live the Revolution.’ It’s sad,” remarked another. Others, however, defended the gesture of the evacuees as a sign of relief and hope: “After what they went through, it’s normal for them to be thankful for being alive,” wrote another user.
The presence of a dog in the helicopter also sparked comments, as it occurred just a few days after nationwide outrage was triggered by the case of the dog abandoned during evacuations in the province of Granma. On that occasion, the organization Bienestar Animal Cuba (BAC-Habana) condemned the incident and issued an urgent call to find out the whereabouts of the animal, which had become a symbol of neglect and institutional indifference. “This is not just another post. It's the cry of a little dog left alone, gazing at the sky where his friend once went,” wrote BAC on their Facebook profile.
The contrast between the two moments —the controversy surrounding the abandonment of the dog in Bayamo and the image of the new flight with a dog on board alongside its owner— did not go unnoticed by many users, who saw in the recent images a possible response to the previous uproar or a way to counteract public criticism towards official rescues.
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