October 31, 2025
Johanna Tablada, deputy director general for the United States at Minrex.
The deputy director general for the United States at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Johana Tablada, said Friday that so far “the United States has not made any specific offers, nor has it responded to questions raised about the announcement made by the Secretary of State.”
In statements to the press from the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the official stressed that “in no case has the Cuban government set extraordinary conditions” for receiving international aid to help in our recovery from Hurricane Melissa. She recalled that in recent years, in the face of disaster situations, the U.S. government has made offers “in a manner respectful to Cuba and Cubans, which have materialized.”
Tablada also specified that there are mechanisms in place to channel donations from U.S. organizations and citizens to the victims, their families, or specific groups. “These channels are working,” she said, although she acknowledged that those who wish to collaborate must face “restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.”
The statements come in the context of recent official announcements about possible gestures of cooperation, the details of which have not yet been confirmed by the US side.
Statement from Johana Tablada, Deputy Director General for the General Directorate for the United States:
Yesterday, our Embassy in Washington contacted the State Department regarding what they published extending hurricane aid to Cuba. I can assure you that, so far, the United States has not made any concrete offers nor has it responded to the questions raised about the announcement made by the Secretary of State. Other countries and United Nations agencies did make offers and have already implemented them or are in the process of doing so.
In no case has the Cuban government imposed extraordinary conditions for sending aid. In recent years, in the face of disaster situations, the United States has made respectful offers to Cuba and Cubans, which have materialized. With regard to individuals and organizations in the United States that are willing and interested in offering assistance to the damages caused by Hurricane Melissa, in general, to victims or their families, or to specific individuals and groups, there are several ways to do so, and those channels are working; they are functioning.
Naturally, they have to overcome restrictions imposed by the U.S. government but it is happening but not from the US government.
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English