Relations between Cuba and Venezuela have been based on cooperation, solidarity, integration, and compatibility, affirmed Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic.
The president thus described the bilateral ties built since the era of Commanders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, who promoted an alliance model based on the potential of both sister nations.
In a press conference with national and international media at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, he made it clear that the relationship is not limited to the exchange of goods and dismissed the notion that it has been a bond of dependency, as the United States government and its media allies have tried to characterize it in an attempt to stifle the island’s economy.
Díaz-Canel alluded to the results of the Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, conceived over 25 years ago by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, and also mentioned the international reach of that initiative through the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP).
“No other regional integration bloc has achieved the accomplishments of ALBA-TCP in such a short time with a focus on equity and social justice,” he declared.
In that regard, he referred to the three and a half million people who regained their sight thanks to Operation Miracle, and to the four nations on the continent that eradicated illiteracy with the Cuban literacy program, “Yes, I Can.”
The President explained that Venezuela compensated for the provision of medical services with fuel, an amount that in recent times has not covered all national demand due to the sanctions imposed on the Bolivarian nation to limit its oil exports.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel emphasized that as long as the government in Caracas decides, Cuba is willing to maintain its collaboration there.
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
