Cuba declares the end of the largest fire reported in its history

“Stay without life, stay homeless, stay with nothing, but don’t stay without your soul,” reads the song by Descemer Bueno and Kelvis Ochoa, two important Cuban singer-songwriters. That letter was popularized by the work of a group of artists who dedicated themselves to entertaining those affected by one of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of Cuba.

Back then, the Caribbean island only knew the devastation and pain of serious weather events and, eventually, accidents that gave rise to this type of lyrics. But everything changed in recent years.

And it is that, unfortunately, these claims have become recurring notes, added to a delicate moment in its economy, with an impact only compared to the “special period” of the early nineties, when its main market collapsed: the former Soviet Union. .

Despite this, the inhabitants of the largest of the Antilles do not lose their soul, their essence, and less in times when they express their discontent with the internal situation more frequently and without fear and force themselves to the new direction of the country. to earn respect with solutions.

The latest event was the large-scale fire at the supertanker base in the western province of Matanzas. Lightning struck one of the megatanks, creating a chain reaction that, at a high price, could be contained in time, until it was declared officially extinct.

Testimonials from the field

The flow of work dwindled and Andy Jorge Blanco, a young Cuban journalist who reports from the scene for the country’s main news portal, dedicated part of his short break to telling France 24 how those hours of anguish were experienced. .

He affirmed with certainty that “the work of those who participated in the extinction of the fire was extraordinary.” He also highlighted the formula of youth and experience that was created to fight the flames.

“They entered and left in relays and those who were removed from the flames, as soon as they arrived at the command post, they wanted to return immediately.”

Several of those who were there were also present at the Saratoga hotel disaster, which a few months ago also plunged the country into mourning.

Although everything is under control, the reporter preferred to be conservative in his report: “If you see the photos from the beginning and see the images from today, there is a really significant change,” he pointed out.

“There are still flames, they are not significant (…) imagine that there have been more than 120 hours of constant fire at more than a thousand degrees. A very complex environment,” she said. “But in the midst of so much sadness and so much uncertainty, I think it is a moment of hope. They were very hard days.”

Solidarity is something that is never lacking among Cubans and Andy experienced it.

“From the townspeople who provided coffee and water at the site, to the great pride we feel for the governments of Mexico and Venezuela, who offered their help. Its technicians worked together as if it were a single country”.

The force of the flames forced the firefighters to constantly change their strategy during the hardest days of the deflagration.

“Today we slept with a part of the industrial area on fire and the next day we woke up with new explosions.”

For a moment Andy slowed down his story. “Now is a hard time,” he says accompanied by a sigh. And it is that the identification of the disappeared is missing. The first who arrived on the scene and were surprised by the worsening of the situation.

A hard knock

The fire and the loss of part of the fuel reserve that was stored there represents a serious blow to the Caribbean nation.

In the words of Arturo López-Levy, professor of Politics and International Relations at Holy Names University, “the impact it has is terrible because ultimately the economy works for the people, and there was already a situation of deteriorated living standards.”

“Not only because of the structural problems that the Cuban economy has,” he continued analyzing, “but because at the global level they have a situation of significant increase in oil prices and also a significant increase in food prices in an economy that depends on of imports”.

On this issue, the economic, financial and commercial embargo that the United States Government maintains on Cuba cannot be left off the table, but neither can the need to change what is due internally, in the economic sector.

“This blow makes the challenge of making these changes even more difficult,” said Professor López-Levy. “The country is committed to doing it and I think there is no way to avoid that path,” he concluded.

“On the phone not even a match goes out”

When Cuba was faced with the most devastating fire in its history, it requested international help.

The president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, personally thanked the first nations that showed their immediate support to mitigate the flames on his Twitter account.

Mexico and Venezuela sent specialized personnel and several flights with the necessary technique to extinguish the fire, while the United States, in what represented one of the first public approaches between the two governments since Biden arrived at the White House, expressed its willingness to help. .

From here, as is customary in their relations, the controversy arose.

The independent press, mostly opposed to the prevailing system in Cuba, reported that Havana had not accepted US aid, a matter that was personally clarified by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.

However, not having a follow-up of Washington’s support, in an analysis program of the state network ‘Cubavisión’ ironic about it: “not even a match is extinguished by telephone.”

In this sense, several voices were raised in favor of helping Cuba, among them those of various congressmen such as Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern and Gregory Meeks.

The three, members of the United States House of Representatives, called for the suspension of any pertinent sanctions to accelerate the humanitarian response to the Matanzas disaster.

It is not the first time that an initiative of this type has come out of the Chamber. In 2021, a similar request was made to President Biden in the midst of the economic crisis.

a high cost

The Cuban Minister of Health, José Ángel Portal, specified that at least 130 people have been treated, of which 23 are hospitalized. Of these four patients are in critical condition and, so far, only two deaths have been reported.

The last of them, a 24-year-old firefighter, died from his injuries, described as “incompatible with life.”

The search for the missing persons began earlier than planned, so the number of victims may rise as the bone remains found on the site are identified by seven Forensic Medicine teams. So far the findings belong to four different people.

The Cuban Fire Department remains permanently vigilant in the place, fearing that new outbreaks will arise due to the spilled fuel in combination with the high temperatures.

With AP and local media