Venezuela Sending More Aid to Cuba/Haiti

Following Hurricane Sandy 

HAVANA TIMES (dpa) — The Venezuelan government today sent 93 tons of foods to Cuba on an “air bridge” that will continue transporting humanitarian assistance in the wake of the damage caused by  Hurricane Sandy, reported Venezuela’s minister of the Interior, Nestor Reverol.

The official added that another airplane will take foods to Haiti and that the “air bridge” will become operational over the next seven days.

Venezuela had already sent 553 tons of foods, water, medicine and teams to support recovery efforts following the landfall of the hurricane. President Hugo Chavez has also formed a governmental commission to evaluate the damage and to support the reconstruction of the affected areas.

“Over these next seven days we will be sending all of what is required by both countries. This is a vast expression of support for our sister peoples of Haiti and Cuba,” said Reverol, who pointed out that some 646 tons of additional material assistance will be sent next week to help the two nations.

“We’re ratifying our commitment of solidarity and our affection for these peoples who have been hit so hardly. We are sure that the people of Haiti and Cuba will come out of this crisis,” he asserted.

The ambassador of Cuba in Venezuela, Rogelio Polanco, expressed his thanks for the humanitarian assistance, which he said demonstrates the “sensitivity of President Hugo Chavez and the vocation of solidary of the Bolivarian Revolution.”

Polanco reported that the pounding by Hurricane Sandy left 11 dead and seriously damaged or destroyed at least 130,000 houses in Cuba.

“This shipment has great spiritual value for our people, in addition to the physical value that it already entails,” he indicated.