The Biden administration says the United States will provide Cuba with $2 million in emergency relief to help the island recover from Hurricane Ian. On Wednesday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez expressed gratitude for the funds but said the amount pales in comparison to the economic damage to Cuba caused by the U.S. embargo, which Rodríguez called a “permanent pandemic” and a “constant hurricane.”

Bruno Rodríguez: “Between August 2021 and February 2022, the losses caused by the blockade were on the order of $3.806 billion. It is a record amount, a record for such a short period as these seven months. … Today the policy of President Joseph Biden’s government toward Cuba is regrettable. And it is the same Republican policy; no changes have been introduced in that policy. The surgical design that pursues every income, every source of funding, and supply in the country remains a daily theme.”