The Latin American Report # 622

Around 5 PM Cuba time, from what I observe on various online satellite services, the eye of powerful Hurricane Melissa was moving out to open sea after battering Jamaica with sustained winds close to 300 kph and very intense rains, particularly the western part of that island, birthplace of great sprinters like Usain Bolt, holder of the world record in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. The authorities have warned that it will take time to assess the damages left by Melissa, which will still have effects across the entire country as it moves northeast, aiming for the southern coast of Cuba. It is expected to make landfall here sometime between the end of this Tuesday and the early hours of Wednesday, but rains and damage to communications are already being reported in some areas.

I estimate that the most critical hours for the country will be between 9 PM tonight and 11 AM tomorrow, which means too much time crossing and battering the poorest region of the country, where I am from. So far, still in its preliminary stages, Melissa—which had already broken a record or two—was responsible for nine deaths in the Caribbean, three of them in Jamaica, three in Haiti, two in Panama, and one in the Dominican Republic. The United Nations had mobilized some resources to support the region's preparations, and in the case of Beijing, it donated—through the Chinese chapter of the Red Cross—"family kits" to Cuba containing footwear, spoons, toothbrushes, forks, thermal blankets, bowls, among other items.

"May God have mercy on us, because it´s coming with a lot of strength," a resident of Santiago de Cuba, a southeastern province through which Melissa is forecast to enter, told AP. "Anything can happen," he added. I thank the friend @valued-customer for sending strength and good vibes to me, my family, and Cubans in general. I don't think they, my relatives, will suffer damage in particular, because the infrastructure of my home specifically is not bad, but we are in unknown territory with a meteorological event of Melissa's magnitude. Thanks again, friend.

Regional news brief

• In Brazil, a new raid against gangs was reported, characterized, again, by the lethality of the security forces. This dynamic is often criticized because, according to some experts, it ultimately never decapitates the first ring of the criminal structures. On this occasion, some 2,500 Brazilian police soldiers raided the "headquarters" of the notorious Comando Vermelho gang—aka Red Command—in the Complexo de Alemao and Penha favelas, with ten deaths confirmed by an AP reporter—including two members of the security forces. There is talk of "scores of people" potentially killed and an unknown number of injured, some seriously.
  

• Also in Brazil, the meeting between President Lula da Silva and Trump in Malaysia seems to have awakened the markets in the South American giant, where it is reported that the strategic São Paulo stock exchange registered a new ATH, driven by gains in the critical meat sector. The 0.35% gain at today's close comes on top of yesterday Monday's 0.55% increase, precisely after the head of the Palácio do Planalto announced the good signals from the meeting with his White House counterpart. The Brazilian real, for its part, appreciated by +0.20% against the US dollar. Trump imposed heavy tariffs on Brazilian products as punishment for the trial against former president Jair Bolsonaro.
  

Pete Hegseth strikes again

14 dead, again extending the deployment to the Eastern Pacific. Mexican authorities refer to being still engaged in the search for the survivor mentioned by Hegseth, although Sheinbaum had said something else in her press conference in the morning. Petro, for his part, again charged against the White House's strategy.

This is all for today’s report.