A flight from Madrid arrived in Havana on Wednesday night with a new shipment of humanitarian aid sent by the Spanish government for the victims of Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba.
The information was confirmed by the official journalist Adán Morell, who shared images of the Air Europa plane unloading the material, managed through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). “Solidarity arrives tonight from Spain,” the communicator wrote on his social media alongside a video of the operation on the runway.
According to the data released by Morell, the shipment includes 2,184 family kitchen modules, 1,600 tool modules, and 253 pairs of steel-toed work boots, valued at approximately 145,000 euros. This is the third shipment made by the Spanish government since Hurricane Melissa devastated the eastern provinces of the country.
The official medium Cubadebate also reported on the donation, which was received by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) and by the Chargé d'Affaires of the Spanish Embassy in Havana, Eduardo Sánchez Moreno. According to that report, the diplomat described the donation as "a small contribution" to the affected families and highlighted the solidarity mobilization from various regions in Spain.
In recent days, Spain announced the dispatch of 36 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba including kitchen kits, tools, and footwear for rescue efforts, as well as a fund of half a million euros designated for shelter, health, and drinking water for around 100,000 affected individuals.
AECID explained that the operation is part of an emergency plan in coordination with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and various NGOs, aimed at ensuring a swift and transparent distribution, avoiding the state centralization that has hindered previous international assistance to Cuba.
Meanwhile, independent initiatives are also being mobilized from Spain to support those affected. In Valencia, Cuban priest Olbier Hernández Carbonell, pastor of San Miguel de Soternes church, is spearheading the campaign “A mattress, a hope for Cuba”, aimed at collecting mattresses, medicines, and food for families who lost their homes due to the cyclone.
"We want to bring them some relief. A mattress is not just rest… it's hope and dignity restored," the religious leader expressed on his Facebook account, where he called on the Cuban and Spanish community to join the cause.
The hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction in Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, Guantánamo, and Las Tunas, with thousands of homes destroyed, prolonged power outages, and widespread shortages of food and medicine. In light of this situation, both international cooperation and independent humanitarian networks are trying to alleviate the crisis, amid increasing criticism of the Cuban regime for its lack of transparency and slow delivery of resources.
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