Venezuelan aid vessel arrives in Cuba to help repair damage from Hurricane Matthew

A ship from the Venezuelan navy arrived in Cuba Sunday with a load of humanitarian aid to help repair the eastern side of the island, which was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew in early October.

According to official news portal Cubadebate, the military transport vessel, Tango 62, unloaded 396 tons of aid at the port of Santiago de Cuba, located around 50 km from the province of Guantanamo, which was severely affected.

The cargo includes front loaders, electric transformers, dump trucks and 1,125 units of sheeting for house build.

In a welcoming ceremony, Venezuela's Minister of Housing, Manuel Quevedo, said that Venezuela will also be sending help to Haiti in the coming days.

Engineers from the Venezuelan army and Cuban specialists have begun working on a new bridge linking the municipalities of Baracoa and Moa, as the previous access was destroyed when the hurricane caused the river Toa to surge.

A first Venezuelan ship, Tango 63, arrived in Cuba on Oct. 13, bringing heavy construction machinery and 20,000 square meters of roofing supplies.

Matthew, considered the most powerful hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix in 2007, battered Cuba's eastern coast but left no casualties.

However, it brutalized parts of Haiti, killing over 1,000 people, according to media estimates, as well as at least 43 people in the U.S., 4 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Colombia and 1 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Endit