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Fidel visits Venezuelan ship bringing aid to Cuba
BY REYNOLD
RASSI—Granma daily staff writer—
“THIS is a gesture of Bolivarian
and Latin American solidarity, a gesture of
fraternity, which is what we are,” affirmed
President Fidel Castro on describing the aid offered
by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the
Caribbean nations gravely affected by the recent
Hurricanes Charley, Ivan and Jeanne.
Fidel was referring to the
significance of the new Venezuelan mission
Humanitarian Naval Support to the Caribbean
Fraternity, which consists of construction materials
and equipment, among other resources for repairing
housing and other installations in Cuba, Jamaica,
Haiti and Grenada.
The Cuban president visited
Los Llanos amphibious T-64 craft anchored in the
port of Mariel, Habana province, which transported
those materials to Cuba, as well as a group of
Venezuelans likewise lending their solidarity in the
form of construction work in Sandino municipality in
Pinar del Río province.
On his arrival at the port,
accompanied by Adán Chávez Frías, the Venezuelan
ambassador to Cuba, and other Cuban leaders, Fidel
was met by Alex Ascanio Palomares, frigate captain
and ship commander, head of the task force for aid
to our country and Jamaica, and other officers and
crew members.
Aboard the boat, he was given a
special salute by a company of marines, with various
whistles corresponding to the category of president
of the Republic in ceremonial naval protocol.
ANIMATED CONVERSATION
In the officer’s chamber, Fidel
had an animated two-hour conversation with the
officers in charge of the ship and the Caribbean
support task force. The Cuban leader asked about the
organization of this new Venezuelan mission for aid
to Cuba and the other three Caribbean islands.
He expressed gratitude for this
noble gesture by the Bolivarian government on behalf
of the Cuban people and in particular the population
of the westernmost areas of Pinar del Río, most
affected by Ivan, where 76 Venezuelans who came on
the boat are already working on recovery tasks.
Fidel spoke of the damage wreaked
by the recent hurricanes on countries in the region
and, in the case of Cuba, explained the measures
adopted to avert the loss of human lives and
resources, as well as the reconstruction and repair
work underway to restore the situation as soon as
possible.
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