White House to Finally Deliver Aid to Cuba after Hurricane Melissa
For months, Latin American nations have been delivering aid to Cuba after Hurricane Melissa. Today, the United States finally delivered the crumbs it promised
On October 29, 2025, Hurricane Melissa battered the Caribbean with powerful winds up to 185 miles an hour. Jamaica, Haiti, and Eastern Cuba all suffered the greatest impacts. While Latin America and much of the world jumped into action to support every country. The United States stood out because it was quick to provide aid to every country affected except Cuba. For Cuba, it was simply an announcement saying it would offer assistance.
While the US offered a paltry $3 million in aid to Cuba two days after the storm, the aid wasn’t made available until yesterday, more than two months later. Meanwhile, the US immediately delivered more than $37 million in aid to Haiti and Jamaica within 10 days, with 530,000 lbs of food being delivered to western Jamaica. All of this was handled through the Department of State under Marco Rubio, a Cuban, who once again, intentionally starved Cubans by delaying aid.
“The Trump Administration is following through on our commitment to deliver $3 million in much-needed disaster relief to the Cuban people affected by Hurricane Melissa,” read the statement. “The United States remains steadfast in supporting the Cuban people’s post-disaster recovery. The first in a series of shipments of humanitarian assistance are designed to reach those most in need, bypassing regime interference, and ensuring transparency and accountability,” continued the statement. “Our humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to stand with the Cuban people as they seek a better future.”
Despite the bluster from the State Department and with legacy media trying to make the US seem benevolent in helping Cubans, the reality is that Cubans were intentionally left behind to create even more suffering for the Cuban people. The numbers and expedited assistance for other countries tell the story. A story you won’t hear in corporate news. It’s a narrative that makes the United States appear petty and intentionally inhumane while so-called third-world countries look much better on the world’s stage.
Looking at a timeline of statements from the Department of State tells one part of the story; the aid delivered by Latin America alone tells the other part.
By December 10, Venezuela had delivered over 12,000 tons of aid. In that same period, Mexico delivered 80,000 barrels of oil to help mitigate blackouts, provided technical assistance, and provided medical and food supplies; Colombia immediately delivered 246 tons of food, hygiene kits, and essential goods; and Panama delivered 2.6 tons of aid from its Regional Strategic Stockpile, consisting of critical medical supplies. Many other countries, from the Middle East to Asia, moved quickly to provide aid to Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Bahamas.
While the US was explaining the rules about making donations to Cuba, other countries acted, and their citizens responded with massive amounts of donations. No such effort occurred in the United States, with little exception. Meanwhile, all Cuba saw were statements that included useless words about how the US was “coordinating with the Catholic Church the distribution of $3 million,” and “Our prayers are with the brave Cuban people.”
When the US offers aid to Cuba, it should always be noted that Cuba is only suffering due to US sanctions, and if not for that, Cuba wouldn’t need so much help in the face of a natural disaster. The sanctions in this case served as an excuse to drag assistance out as long as possible, while also glossing over how the rules to make individual or private sector donations are complicated and may or may not require licensing by the US government.
This has been criticized by many groups, including the Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect (ACERE). The duplicitous policies and statements only serve to delay assistance and provide excuses while misery sets in. The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that it is embracing the largely fascistic hardline policies by White Cuban Americans about an island with a majority Black population, fitting right in with its white Christian nationalist policies.
“The State Department’s guidance confirms that U.S. law already contains exemptions and authorizations for humanitarian aid; it also points would-be donors into a thicket of licenses, carve-outs, and conditions that are notoriously slow and confusing in the middle of a disaster,” reads ACERE’s statement. “Independent experts have flagged the core contradiction: the framework permits “infrastructure” support that benefits hospitals, yet bars direct donations (like medicines) to those same public hospitals because they are state-run,” continued the statement. “Banks and shippers, wary of sanctions compliance risk, often refuse or delay transactions, making it difficult for even vetted organizations to move money and goods when hours matter. The result is predictable: help trickles, not surges.”
According to the State Department, the aid will “reach an estimated 6,000 families—approximately 24,000 individuals—in the hardest-hit provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Guantanamo.” However, the populations of those cities combine to total more than 3 million people, with over 1 million in Santiago de Cuba and more than 1 million in Holguín. The assistance consists of food kits (rice, beans, oil, and sugar), hygiene and water treatment kits, kitchen sets (pots and cooking utensils), and household items (sheets, blankets, and solar lanterns).
“Charter flights carrying assistance will depart from Miami on January 14 and January 16 and arrive in Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, respectively,” reads a statement from the State Department. “Each flight will deliver more than 525 food kits and 650 hygiene and water treatment kits, reaching over 1,000 families. A commercial vessel scheduled to dock in Santiago de Cuba in a few weeks will carry the rest of the assistance.”
While these statements and media narratives might make most in the US feel good about the aid being sent to Cuba, it helps to understand the full context of this story to better comprehend that the US is far from being benevolent. What the United States is doing is continuing to push Cubans to a breaking point and offering crumbs so it can show the world that it’s doing something. Much like the food aid the US sends to Cuba every month, it’s just enough to keep people alive. However, without the sanctions, no aid would be needed.
For context, the US spent just 7.6 million in aid to Cuba in 2024. It spends roughly $50 million annually on anti-Cuba propaganda, and the blockade costs the US roughly $6 billion in lost economic benefit each year.
I’m an independent journalist digging deeper into the stories you see or don’t see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, Orinoco Tribune, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
You have convinced me sanctions are evil. The only good sanctions I could see are on Putin’s regime and Netanyahu’s regime.