- Cuba has asked for emergency assistance from the USA following Hurricane Ian’s destruction.
- The Wall Street JournalEmails were exchanged between the two countries describing the request.
- Cuba’s appeal for US assistance is noteworthy given their longstanding, cold relationship.
In a rare petition, the Cuban government asks the Biden administration to provide US assistance to address the damage caused by the Cuban Revolution. Hurricane IanAccording to,, which decimated the island country earlier this week The Wall Street Journal.
The outlet obtained communications between both governments detailing Cuba’s request to receive emergency assistance following Ian’s rampage. The Journal reports that Cuba didn’t request a dollar amount. The Journal stated that the US was still deciding whether Havana would supplement the request.
On Tuesday night, a hurricane struck Cuba. It knocked out all of Cuba’s power grids and left 11 million people without electricity. According to the Associated Press, three people died and massive structural damage were caused by the storm. The Associated Press.
According to The Journal, the emails suggest that the US is working with Havana to determine how much assistance is needed. Washington confirmed that Cuban authorities would prioritise hospitals, water pumps facilities, and other critical infrastructure if the US sent assistance.
Insider’s request to confirm and comment on the State Department’s response was not immediately answered by the department.
Cuba’s appeal to the United States for aid is noteworthy given their longstanding, cold relationship. Trump, the former president of the United States, stoked more animosity between them in 2017. His administration reversed portions of an Obama-era agreementThis had allowed for travel and commercial freedoms to be eased within the country, and again in 2021. The US declared Cuba a state sponsor for terrorism.
Biden’s election has seen a resurgence in relations between the two countries, although Cuba is still on the US terrorist watch list.
Cuba’s emergency assistance request comes as one of its key economic allies — Russia — wages a months-long war in Ukraine, The Journal noted.
