By Roberto Morejón

With a mixture of joy and calm at seeing their relatives back home, Cubans reacted  -- regretting the presence of relatives in Haiti, where a wave of violence made staying there risky.

The Cuban government organized a meticulous and complex operation to return Cubans stranded in Haiti, where they went for personal reasons, and were surprised by the deterioration of security.

This is confirmed in the statements to the press of several of the returnees, now serene, but evoking the moments of tension and uncertainty in the country left behind.

In a voluntary and safe movement, about 250 Cubans, most of them women, returned through airports in the eastern part of the Caribbean archipelago, after traveling in bus caravans from Port-au-Prince to the northern Cape of Haiti.

They had to do so, attentive to possible events on the route, given the closure of the airport in the capital of Haiti, attacked by gangs that took control of that city and other parts of the country.

The transfer to their homeland, which included driving them from the east to their provinces of origin, forced close coordination.

The Cuban government, its embassy in Port-au-Prince, the Association of Cuban Residents in Haiti and entities in charge of logistics participated.

As a culmination of the trip, they received specialized medical treatment and a prophylactic dose to prevent the entry of diseases into the national territory.

Thus culminates a march that required a meticulous and continuous analysis of the opportune moment to organize it, although the so-called independent press, financed abroad, mendaciously alleged delays.

The safe return of compatriots stuck in Haiti in turbulent scenarios, as some of them heard shootings near where they were staying, highlights Cuba's invariable principle of not leaving anyone abandoned.

The Cubans said that they needed the help of Haitians, the embassy and the airline, because in addition to the danger due to the increase in violence, their financial resources were decreasing.

Cuba regrets the current context in Haiti and highlights the solidarity and selfless cooperation that it has provided in areas of great impact for its people such as public health and literacy.