Cuba accuses Washington of “political manipulation” over the humanitarian aid sent by the US to the victims of Hurricane Melissa

Havana has denounced the granting of humanitarian aid by the United States to the victims of Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba as “political manipulation”, amid heightened political tensions between the two countries, reports AFP, according to Agerpres.

“The United States government is exploiting what could appear to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic purposes and political manipulation,” the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement released late Wednesday.

Washington announced the delivery of $3 million in humanitarian aid via two charter flights from Miami to eastern Cuba, saying it had taken “extraordinary measures to ensure that this aid reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime.”

Aid from Washington, which is working with the Catholic Church on the communist island, is expected to reach about 6,000 families, or 24,000 people, according to the State Department.

Cuban diplomacy said Washington had not entered into any official communication with Havana to confirm the shipment of this aid, 77 days after the hurricane hit several of the country's eastern provinces in November.

“Cuba accepts this donation unconditionally and understands that it is a gesture from the people of the United States,” added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trump threatened Cuba

The US aid comes as President Donald Trump steps up threats against Cuba, Venezuela's economic and ideological ally, following the fall of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured on January 3 during a spectacular operation by US forces in Caracas.

The US president specifically urged Cuba to accept, “before it's too late,” an “agreement” the nature of which he did not specify.

Cuba, which is heavily dependent on Venezuelan oil, is facing its worst economic crisis in three decades, with runaway inflation, power outages and shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

“There is nothing political about canned tuna, rice, beans and pasta. Those who are politicizing the situation are members of the regime who want to distract and lie, and they certainly do, because the truth is that they are incapable of supporting their own people,” a senior State Department official in charge of humanitarian aid, Jeremy Lewin, told reporters Thursday.

He said that he “hopes that the Cuban government (…) will not politicize the issue, will not interfere” in the distribution of this aid.

According to Washington, it is about engaging in a “broader humanitarian response for Cuba,” the official continued, stressing that “the hurricane, while causing devastation, is only one part of what is in reality a tragic and widespread humanitarian crisis in Cuba, with disease, starvation and misery, which are the result of regime incompetence and the failure of the existing system.”