Havana, September 11 (RHC)-- Cuba today sent the first shipment of humanitarian aid to the Bahamas, hard hit by Hurricane Dorian, which caused dozens of victims and great devastation. 

At noon a Cubana airliner took off with the cargo, "which conveys an embrace of solidarity to the Bahamian people and government."  According to Raciel Proenza, deputy director general of Economic Collaboration of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (Mincex), the next few days will see a Cuban vessel with additional supplies arrive in the Bahamas.

This corresponds to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said about Cuba's willingness to contribute to the recovery of the Caribbean nation "according to the island's possibilities and despite the economic limitations caused by the U.S. blockade," said Proenza.   He added that Cuba organized a medical brigade from the Henry Reeve Contingent, created by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, to deal with situations of epidemics, catastrophes and natural disasters.   This brigade is ready to leave as soon as the ongoing coordination with the Bahamian authorities is finalized, said the Mincex official.

Havana also offered the support of workers from the Electric Union to help restore electrical lines in the Bahamian archipelago.  The official added that Cuba is also willing to send a brigade equipped with chainsaws for the clearing of felled trees that block roads in the Bahamas.

"The Bahamas can count on Cuba," stressed Raciel Proenza.