The U.S. Agency for International Development, the government branch that mobilizes humanitarian aid around the world but which Cuban authorities have accused of being a surrogate for the CIA, is taking the unprecedented step of providing $2 million to help the victims of hurricane Ian in Cuba, which damaged more than 100,000 homes on the island’s western side.
In a statement Tuesday, Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, USAID’s parent agency, said the emergency relief funds will be channeled through international organizations working inside the country.
“The United States will work with trusted, independent organizations operating in the country who have a long presence in hurricane-affected communities,” Price said. “We are currently reviewing applications from organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to provide this assistance.”
The Miami Herald reported last week that USAID had sent personal protective equipment, including uniforms for firefighters, to Cuba in response to a devastating fire at an oil storage facility in the port of Matanzas in August. But the agency could not certify to Congress where the uniforms actually ended up.
While USAID said it will use third parties to channel the hurricane assistance, such an effort requires the agreement of the island’s authorities to accept that the aid enters the country and gets distributed by nongovernmental organizations. The island’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, confirmed that on Twitter.
“We appreciate humanitarian assistance offer made by the U.S.,” Rodríguez said. “This material contribution that is worth 2 million USD, channeled through the International Federation of Red Cross, will add up to our recovery efforts in support of the victims of the ravages caused by Hurricane Ian.”
Throughout the history of the revolution Cuba has systematically rejected humanitarian aid from the United States. Cuban officials also have repeatedly accused USAID of supporting Cuban dissidents and funding covert regime change programs.
But in the past few months, concerns about the deteriorating situation on the island have grown within the Biden administration. Almost 200,000 Cuban have entered the United States in the past fiscal year, fleeing food shortages, soaring prices, daily blackouts and increased repression.
As a result, U.S. and Cuban officials have engaged in discussions about assistance following the fire in Matanzas and the devastation left by hurricane Ian, which battered Pinar del Río and Antermisa provinces in western Cuba and caused the dilapidated electrical grid to collapse.
Most of Pinar del Río still has no electricity. Hourslong blackouts are happening daily across the country, fueling protests in Havana and several other places.
The Tuesday announcement followed debate over sending humanitarian aid to Cuba at a critical time. Several activists and exile organizations had urged the Biden administration to find ways to channel the support directly to the Cuban people through trusted nongovernmental organizations.
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