WASHINGTON, October 1 – Novosti. Cuba has turned to the United States with a rare request for emergency assistance after the devastation caused on the island by Hurricane Ian, according to the American Wall Street Journal, citing email messages.
After the impact of Hurricane Ian, the Caribbean island was completely de-energized, two people died in the province of Pinar del Rio. More than 50 thousand people in the west and in the central part of the country were evacuated, serious damage was caused to agriculture in these regions.
“According to reports reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration has received a rare request for emergency assistance from the Cuban government following the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian,” the newspaper said.
It is noted that the exact amount of assistance was not mentioned, while the United States is still trying to establish whether the government in Havana will supplement the request, as it is working to determine the extent of the damage.
According to the newspaper, the emails also say that the US will continue to engage with Havana to determine how much aid is needed, and Washington considered that the Cuban authorities would prioritize hospitals, water pumps, sanitation and other critical infrastructure if the US provided help.
For over 60 years, longer than any other country, Cuba has been affected by unilateral US sanctions. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were severed in the middle of the last century, after which a trade embargo was introduced against the island nation. During the presidency of Barack Obama , the United States announced the beginning of the normalization of relations and the easing of sanctions. The process was interrupted under Donald Trump , who imposed a ban on doing business with organizations controlled by the Cuban military, tightened travel rules to the island and re-included Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. The current administration of Democrat Joe Biden continues Republican Trump’s hard line on the island.
