Hurricane Melissa: Venezuela Sends Humanitarian Aid to Cuba and Jamaica

Venezuela has begun to send humanitarian aid to Cuba and Jamaica, following the devastating damage both nations suffered from Hurricane Melissa.

From the Simón Bolívar International Airport in La Guaira state this Thursday, October 30, Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the shipment consists of 46 tons of various supplies. Of this total, 26 tons are being sent in a Conviasa flight to Cuba. The other 20 tons are destined for Jamaica.

“We are sending medical supplies, food and construction equipment to address the emergency,” said the foreign minister. He highlighted that, in the case of Cuba, a ship is being prepared to send another 3,000 tons of aid, which will depart in the coming days.

Stepping up. Venezuela is sending 46 tons of humanitarian aid, 26 to Cuba and 20 to Jamaica, to assist in recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. Shipment includes food and medicine, and a ship w/ more aid will sail to Cuba in a few dayshttps://t.co/O4DG6IGV4M
— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) October 30, 2025

Gil recalled that 25 years ago, Cuba and Venezuela signed the comprehensive cooperation agreement between both nations. At that time, the largest island of the Antilles provided important support to the Venezuelan people to address a number of social needs. Today, the destruction wrought by Hurricane Melissa demands that the entire surrounding region continues to demonstrate the solidarity that characterizes the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“In this difficult time that the people of the Caribbean are living,” the foreign minister said, “affected by Hurricane Melissa—which we must say is a product of all the effects of climate change—we are stepping forward, as we know that Cuba always steps forward with its solidarity for the world.”

The Venezuelan top diplomat said he will personally deliver this shipment of humanitarian aid in Santiago de Cuba, where he is traveling with the Cuban ambassador to Venezuela, Jorge Luis Mayo Fernández, who thanked Venezuela for its support.

“We embrace our brotherly Bolivarian people,” the ambassador said. “We thank the entire government team for this new step. The solidarity of the Venezuelan people is forever present in Cuba.”

The Cuban ambassador said the aid will allow them to assist the inhabitants of the island’s eastern region, which has not yet recovered from other shocks resulting from the unlawful and unilateral blockade they have faced for more than six decades by the US empire and its allies that prevents them from making progress on issues such as this and many others.

He added that while the US regime is busy pressuring and threatening the peoples of Latin America, Venezuela is crossing the Caribbean with ships of solidarity and planes of love, “with the courage and the right that we possess,” setting an example for the rest of the countries.

“These shipments do not carry threats or aircraft carriers, but rather food and medicine,” the Cuban diplomat pointed out, criticizing the US for its assaults on Latin America.

Jamaica was declared a disaster zone after Hurricane Melissa struck, as thousands of people were left isolated and displaced. In Cuba, the hurricane left towns flooded and isolated, homes destroyed, crops waterlogged, and extensive property damage.

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As of the latest reports, no deaths have been confirmed in Cuba as a direct result of hurricane. However, the death toll in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti has been confirmed at more than 30 people, with the number expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.

The absence of fatalities in Cuba is largely attributed to extensive and effective preparatory measures by the country’s Civil Defense, which successfully evacuated more than 735,000 people from high-risk areas in the eastern provinces.

(Últimas Noticias) by María Milagros Sánchez with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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