Cuba Pays for Some Oil in Services
Associated Press 08.02.07, 10:39 PM ET
CARACAS, Venezuela -
Cuba pays for most of its Venezuelan oil with social services rendered
by specialists from doctors to sports trainers, the island's ambassador
to Venezuela said.
"More than 50 percent of the bill is paid in this manner," Ambassador
German Sanchez Otero told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday on the sidelines
of a Latin American social forum.
Venezuela ships Cuba more than 90,000 barrels of crude per day. Cuba in
turn has sent thousands of doctors and nurses who treat Venezuelans for
free at neighborhood clinics. Sports trainers also have come to the
South American nation, among others.
Cuban officials say they pay the same price for Venezuelan crude as
other countries.
Venezuelan has had especially close ties to Cuba under President Hugo
Chavez, who sees Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro as a mentor and
praised him during a speech Thursday.
"Fidel, thank you for existing," Chavez said. "Thank you for being what
you will be forever - our leader, supreme example of what a
revolutionary should be."
Castro, who turns 81 this month, has not been seen in public since July
31, 2006, when he issued a proclamation saying he had undergone
emergency intestinal surgery and was temporarily stepping down in favor
of his younger brother, Raul.
Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, who was visiting
Caracas on Thursday, said Castro continues to "recover very well" and is
"working a lot."
No comments:
Post a Comment