Over ten days after Hurricane Oscar made landfall in Guantánamo on October 20th, stories continue to emerge highlighting the government's inadequate response to protect its citizens, resulting in at least eight fatalities and extensive property damage. Esteban Romero, like many residents of Baracoa, faced severe danger due to a lack of warnings about Hurricane Oscar, which later weakened to a tropical storm. Although his family survived without loss of life, he witnessed the destructive force of the winds and rain, which decimated much of his livelihood and assets.
His relatives reached out to CiberCuba to shed light on the falsehoods propagated by the Cuban regime, which claimed to be prepared for the cyclone and to support the population throughout the crisis. Videos sent to the news outlet were recorded six days after the hurricane's passage; however, due to ongoing issues with restoring electricity and persistent blackouts, they were only just made available.
Government Negligence and Unforeseen Chaos
Romero resides in the El Güirito community, part of the El Jamal Popular Council in Baracoa. Before the hurricane, he was a prominent producer of coconuts and root vegetables. "Nobody informed us about this event. They said it was just a tropical storm, and we are used to those as a normal occurrence here. Yet, when it developed, and even now, no one has come to see what happened," Romero expressed, encapsulating the frustration of those who feel abandoned by the authorities after the storm's devastation.
He recounted that the water level rose approximately five to six meters, reaching the roof's base and submerging his car. "All the cows, oxen, pigs, goats, sheep drowned, and everything was destroyed, including the horses and poultry that were here," Romero lamented, underscoring the extent of his losses.
Lack of Official Response
Six days after Hurricane Oscar struck the Guantánamo area as a Category 1 storm, Romero claimed that no government officials had visited to assess the material damage. "No one has come here to see or ask how the animals perished or how we were evacuated. A rescue team had to come to get us out, and no one has acknowledged or seen what happened," he lamented, highlighting the government's absence in the wake of the disaster.
In the video, Romero showcased the dire living conditions they endured, abandoned by the regime, and the severe damage inflicted on his coconut plantation, a crucial source of income for his family. The Cuban government's lack of preparedness for Hurricane Oscar was so apparent that even state-run journalists penned accounts admitting their unawareness of contingency or evacuation plans.
Firsthand Accounts of Desperation
Journalist Jorge Luis Merencio Cautín, witnessing the chaos in San Antonio del Sur, described the terrifying impact of Oscar in Venceremos: "Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of locals, caught off guard by the deluge, could not safeguard their most valuable possessions, not even the most essential ones." His account captures the panic and despair of the residents, who scrambled to rooftops, trees, and high ground to avoid being swept away by the floodwaters. "The struggle to save their lives and not drown far outweighed the value of what they left behind," he recounted, illustrating the complete lack of preparedness for the emergency.
Meanwhile, Mirna Rodríguez Zúñiga, a journalist with La Voz del Toa in Baracoa, documented her experience in Radio Guantánamo with an article titled "It Wasn't a Mathew, but It Was an Oscar." In it, Rodríguez revealed how she learned of the hurricane's approach solely through rumors and neighborly communications: "After hearing the news, which spread by word of mouth due to the power outage, I spent several frantic hours securing doors and windows, purchasing food, digging trenches—exhausting work," she recounted, noting the eerie calm that came with the hurricane's eye passing overhead.