Member countries of Latin America’s alternative integration bloc, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), met in the Venezuelan capital this weekend in order to discuss the advancement of the organisation at its 11th official summit.
When WikiLeaks announced its plan to release tens of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables to the public, the U.S. government feared a massive international backlash and threat to national security. In this analysis, COHA's Katie Soltis details how the U.S. tried to undermine Haiti’s oil deal with Venezuela in order to protect the vested interests of U.S. oil corporations, among other policies that prioritized U.S. interests over the Haitian people's.
By Lionel Lafortune, Ambassador Canino -Haiti Progrès, Jul 24th 2011
This interview was conducted on the 200th anniversary of Venezuelan independence and details Venezuela-Haiti cooperation efforts. In recent years Venezuela has consistently provided Haiti with invaluable support and obviously has not forgotten the support that Haiti gave to the country during the struggle for independence against Spanish colonialism.
How did Haiti’s “indispensable man” René Préval become so dispensable? A review of PetroCaribe’s genesis and the U.S. Embassy’s response to it provides a window into understanding why the U.S. has been so forceful in backing the U.S.-centric Martelly team over Préval’s two-timing sector.
Hector Rodriguez, Vice-president of the “Social Area Council of Venezuela”, confirmed the Venezuelan government’s commitment to maintaining its reconstruction efforts in Haiti and sent a message of solidarity to the Haitian people on behalf of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
On Tuesday, the Venezuelan government sent a team from its Ministry of Health along with 10,000 doses of medication, 4,500 intravenous drips and rehydration tablets to Haiti to help battle against the disease’s spread and relieve the symptoms of those at risk.
The Venezuela-led trade bloc, ALBA, pledged $2.42 billion in reconstruction aid to earthquake-torn Haiti between the years 2010-2016 during a United Nations conference on Wednesday. Also, Venezuela called for Haiti’s foreign debt to be forgiven and advocated direct aid and services, not loans, for the Caribbean country.
By Kiraz Janicke - Venezuelanalysis.com, Feb 23rd 2010
In the Huffington Post, freelance journalist Patrick Adams implies that there is something untoward and problematic about the Venezuelan aid effort in earthquake ravaged Haiti. Perhaps it's that the approach of the Venezuelan aid effort is not to impose conditions or win lucrative reconstruction contracts, but rather to help provide Haitians with tools with which they can organise and empower their communities.
South American nations agreed to contribute to a US$ 100 million reconstruction fund for earthquake ravaged Haiti at an extraordinary summit of the Union of South American Nations.
In the context of the tragedy in Haiti, US imperialism, and Latin America's long history of rebellion and of being exploited, Castro examines the role Venezuela is playing in the development and liberation of the Caribbean.
