Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited Cayo Granma island in Santiago de Cuba on November 28, 2025, to assess recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa. He expressed thanks to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the support provided in reconstruction. The visit highlights national and international aid amid the cyclone's damages.
On November 28, 2025, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez arrived at Cayo Granma, a small island of just over 800 inhabitants off Santiago de Cuba Bay, accompanied by deputy prime ministers, ministers, and sector directors involved in provincial recovery. This two-square-kilometer area suffered severe damage from Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall on October 29 and ravaged wooden and tiled homes, as well as coastal communities like La Socapa, Caracoles, and Punta Gorda. Residents compared its destructiveness to Hurricane Sandy 13 years ago.
In Cayo Granma, out of 256 homes, 170 were affected: 15 totally destroyed, 20 partially, 31 roofs completely lost, and 84 partially damaged. Additionally, 170 mattresses were ruined, with 150 already distributed. The island received about 1,000 roofing tiles and food kits from the Cuban government, the World Food Programme, Venezuela, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), state institutions, and the Cuban people.
Díaz-Canel toured the damaged pharmacy, school, and bakery, speaking with residents who highlighted the full evacuation of the population, with no casualties or injuries—a source of pride for the community. This was the first visit by a president to the island. At Juan Gualberto Gómez primary school, the only one in the area with 61 students, the roof was torn off but has reopened with a new one, with no loss of school supplies and full teaching coverage. The president talked with students and teachers about schedules, lunches, and sports, proposing a basketball court that the children preferred to replace with a soccer one, a promise he accepted with laughter.
"It is a delight to be here," Díaz-Canel told the young people, noting the hopeful atmosphere and gratitude for the swift recovery response. He assured residents that resources would continue to arrive: "Together we will recover, there's no need to be afraid!" A neighbor shouted, "You have to come back!" to which he replied thanking them for the welcome.
In the Provincial Defense Council meeting, he assessed progress nearly a month after the impact: electrical recovery at 84%, validation of damages in 48,768 of 141,000 homes preliminarily reported, and sanitation. He deemed the remaining days decisive to bring Santiago up to the level of neighboring provinces, mobilizing all national forces to the cradle of the Revolution.
Concurrently, Díaz-Canel sent a message of thanks to Nicolás Maduro for Venezuela's aid in recovering from Hurricane Melissa's effects.