The intertwined history of Cuba and Guatemala goes back almost five centuries. In 1536, Friar Bartolomé de las Casas sailed from Cuba to Guatemala with material for his book, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, seared upon his conscience. Documenting atrocities against Cuba’s indigenous populations, the book persuaded Guatemala’s colonial powers to rewrite abusive labor laws that were killing the Maya; the book also earned De las Casas the nickname ‘apostle of the Indians.’ Over 300 years later, the apostle of Cuban independence, José Martí, cut his journalistic teeth in Guatemala, while Cuban poet José Joaquín Palma authored Guatemala’s national anthem. More recently, in the 1950s, Dr Ernesto (‘Che’) Guevara’s time in the country solidified his belief in the need for radical social change a few years before he would join Fidel Castro’s Rebel Army.

And in 1998, Guatemala, like Cuba so many times before and since, was struck by a fierce, fatal hurricane, opening in its wake a new chapter in the countries’ shared history. Hurricane Mitch took over 30,000 lives in Central America and is widely considered the deadliest hurricane to hit the Western Hemisphere in 200 years. The storm made landfall in Guatemala on October 26, 1998 killing 268 people and displacing 106,000. Losses were estimated at US$750 million, with 6,000 homes completely destroyed and another 20,000 damaged. Seven health centers and 48 rural health stations serving 50,000 people were affected.[1] Within days, a team of 19 Cuban doctors landed in Puerto San José in the southern department of Escuintla to provide medical assistance. Working alongside Spanish, US, and Guatemalan relief workers, the Cuban contingent set broken bones, treated some 900 cases of cholera[2] and 14,000 of malaria,[3] evacuated pregnant women, and delivered babies. Implementing vector control, safeguarding food supplies, and providing potable water were other measures taken by the Cuban volunteers, who drew on their own experiences in hurricane recovery.