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CUBA-VENEZUELA
Two-way
cooperation
THE
Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) recently
refuted a claim that the Chávez government is
donating oil to Cuba, a claim it qualified as a
"gross lie by fascists and coup
organizers" within the Venezuelan opposition,
circulated by the privately owned media to confuse
the public in that country.
These
evil-intentioned persons, states a note from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated January 9 and
reproduced in its entirety in Granma
International (No.2), "are overlooking the
hundreds of millions of dollars paid by Cuba to
PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela), fully meeting its
commitments month by month, cent by cent, not
without some effort and sacrifice, as well as
"the effects on our economy (of more than $200
million USD), "by their Olympian omission that
no ‘present’ whatsoever exists and that the
signed Cooperation Agreement is not one-sided but of
two-way benefit."
The
documents points out: "In contrast, what has
Cuba’s attitude been? Has the island perchance
caused some damage to Venezuela?" It moves on
to quote various examples of the island’s
cooperation with "that sister nation:
"A
total of 748 Cuban doctors, nurses and health
technicians have freely given their services in
dangerous places and the remotest areas of
Venezuelan territory where no such services
existed." In the locations where they have
worked, it points out, the infant mortality rate has
been reduced from 19.5 to 3.9 per one thousand live
births.
It
notes that 380 young Venezuelans, "in their
overwhelming majority from modest backgrounds,"
are studying, likewise free of charge, at the island’s
Latin American School of Medical Science.
"A
total of 3,042 Venezuelan patients, in their
majority suffering from serious disorders and
injuries, have been freely treated in Cuban health
institutions. That treatment, including a large
number of highly complex operations, would have cost
the Venezuelan government tens of millions of
dollars," adds the MINREX statement. It notes
that "adding on the free services offered by
Cuba, its value would rise to more than $100 million
USD in barely two years¼ "
It
likewise refers to the fact that "600 Cuban
trainers and other sports technicians have been
working in many cities and areas of Venezuela"
to promote the development of physical education and
sports among the population. "For this
cooperation — which is not free of charge — Cuba
has received an income far below the average amount
charged in professional fees by specialists from
other nations or from its own nation, if it had such
private-sector professionals."
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