The team at Cáritas Santiago de Cuba completed yesterday the unloading of five new containers of humanitarian aid sent from the United States to the port of Santiago de Cuba, intended for families affected by Hurricane Melissa.
According to the official statement, the five containers contain 1,320 food modules, 1,500 hygiene modules, and 720 home modules, which will begin to be distributed in the coming days among the most vulnerable families in the dioceses of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, and Guantánamo.
The Catholic Church, through Cáritas Cuba, is the primary channel for international humanitarian aid to eastern Cuba since Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 29, 2025, as a category three storm, with sustained winds of up to 195 km/h.
The cyclone left over 116,100 damaged homes, 100,000 hectares of crops devastated, 461 health facilities, and 1,552 schools affected, and severely impacted 2.2 million people in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, and Guantánamo, according to UN estimates.
This shipment is part of a series of humanitarian operations that includes a ship with seven containers that arrived at the same port on February 10, four cargo flights since January 14, and 600 additional kits received by air on April 8.
In total, the joint operation between Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), valued at approximately three million dollars and approved by both governments, has benefited around 6,000 families, about 24,000 people.
The distribution is carried out without the mediation of the Cuban government, directly through parish networks and volunteers from Caritas, prioritizing single mothers, the elderly, the sick, and people with disabilities.
The context is especially critical: the severe fuel crisis that has been affecting Cuba since January 2026 has forced Cáritas to resort to wheelbarrows and carts with animals to deliver aid to the affected areas.
The UN reported on April 7 that over 6.3 million dollars in essential supplies were stranded on the island due to a lack of logistical transportation.
Five months after the hurricane, only 17% of those affected had received official aid from the Cuban regime, according to reports from early April.
Cáritas Cuba reiterated its commitment to "safeguarding, being close to those in need, and embodied hope", the evangelical virtues that guide each of its pastoral actions on the Island.
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