On Thursday, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent 46 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba and Jamaica to assist populations affected by Hurricane Melissa.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said that 26 tons of medical, food and infrastructure supplies were flown to Cuba aboard a Conviasa airline flight, while another 20 tons were delivered to Jamaica.
Preparations are also underway for the departure of a ship carrying more than 3,000 tons of additional assistance to Cuba. The vessel is expected to set sail in the coming days as part of the ongoing cooperation effort.
The aid delivery takes place within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement signed by Commanders Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, which laid the groundwork for the later creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).
“It is an agreement of brotherhood, an example of how relations between states should be,” Gil said, noting that this cooperative framework enables effective responses to climate emergencies.
At the Maiquetia airport, during the send-off of the humanitarian shipment, Cuban Ambassador Jorge Mayo Fernandez thanked Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, stressing that the Bolivarian nation’s solidarity with Cuba has been “permanent and systematic.”
He also noted that Venezuelan humanitarian assistance is crucial for eastern Cuba, where recovery from previous weather events has been hindered by the U.S. “policy of blockade and suffocation.”
“While the empire pressures and threatens the peoples of our America, sister Venezuela crosses the Caribbean with ships and planes of solidarity — planes of love,” Ambassador Mayo Fernandez said.
“No threats or aircraft carriers travel from Venezuela. Food and medicine travel from here. That is the example all nations of the world should follow,” he added, highlighting that Venezuela maintains its spirit of solidarity despite the U.S. sanctions and pressure it faces.
So far, during its passage through the Caribbean, Hurricane Melissa has caused 32 deaths — 23 in Haiti, four in Jamaica, four in Panama and one in the Dominican Republic.
