WASHINGTON.—This Thursday, the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubioannounced that Washington will offer “immediate” humanitarian aid to the “people of Cuba” affected” by the passage of Hurricane Melissaa day after reporting on the dispatch of rescue teams sent to Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, the rest of the countries affected by the cyclone.
“We are prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba affected by the hurricane,” Rubio wrote in a message on X.
We are prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba affected by the Hurricane
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 30, 2025
A day earlier, the head of US diplomacy, of Cuban origin, left Cuba off the list by assuring that the US was in “close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas” due to the ravages of the Melissa and that US rescue teams were heading to the affected areas.
In this new message, the head of US diplomacy included the people of Cuba, but did not provide details of how this aid will be coordinated with the government in Havana, or if it will be done.
“As in neighboring Caribbean countries, the Department issues a Declaration of Humanitarian Assistance for Cuba and is prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance, both directly and through local partners who can distribute it most effectively to those who need it,” the secretary wrote in another message on X some time later.
We are prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba affected by the Hurricane — US State Secretary Marco Rubio
Hurricane Melissa has already killed more than 30 in Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas — a death toll that is expected to climb pic.twitter.com/yQEIQqbMSi
— RT (@RT_com) October 30, 2025
The head of US diplomacy called on those who want to support the Cuban people through donations since, as he explained, US legislation includes “exemptions and authorizations” to make private donations of food to Cuba despite the embargo.
Strongly critical stance against Castroism
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, maintains a strongly critical stance against Castroism and defends maintaining pressure to force a transition to democracy and its distancing from allies hostile to Washington.
“President Donald Trump authorized an immediate response by the United States and ordered the State Department to mobilize aid for affected communities,” the Department said in a statement about aid to all affected territories.
In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation of eastern Cuba, the Trump Administration stands with the brave Cuban people who continue to struggle to meet basic needs.
The United States is prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance directly and via local partners…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) October 30, 2025
Hurricane Melissa, which has gone from category 5 to 2, is advancing towards Bermuda, where the situation is expected to worsen tonight, after leaving a trail of destruction and fatalities in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba, reported the National Hurricane Center.
In Cuba it left millions of people without electricity and cut off from communication, flooded and isolated municipalities, collapsed homes, flooded crops and extensive material damage.
In total, it has left at least 32 fatalities: twenty-three deaths in Haiti, four in Jamaica, four in Panama and one in the Dominican Republic.
You might also be interested: “Ocean warming helped the rapid intensification of Hurricane Melissa”
Related
The post The US offers “immediate” humanitarian aid to the “affected people of Cuba” after the passage of Melissa appeared first on Veritas News.
