"I bring the fraternal and supportive embrace of the Cuban citizens to the beloved Venezuelan people," the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, upon arriving this Monday in the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on an official visit that will last until next May 11, said.
"It is a great honor to return to the land of El Libertador Simón Bolívar, and I am the bearer of an affectionate greeting from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez," the Cuban Prime Minister, in what constitutes his first visit to this country as Head of Government, added.
At the Simón Bolívar international airport in Maiquetía, Marrero Cruz was received at the foot of the plane's steps by Raúl Li Causi, Venezuelan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Caribbean area; Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera, Cuban ambassador here, and Julio César García Rodríguez, head of the Office for Attention to Social Missions in Venezuela.
After the reception ceremony, the Prime Minister thanked the warm welcome, as well as the shows of support and solidarity in the face of the accident at the Saratoga hotel in Havana, a very sad event that has torn the country apart.
He also insisted on the Cuban commitment to friendship and the spirit that emanated from the special relationship established between Commander Hugo Chávez Frías and the historical leader of the Revolution, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.
Therefore, he said, "we have come to ratify our support and solidarity with comrade Nicolás Maduro Moros and with the civic-military union of the Bolivarian and Chavista people, who, like the Cuban people, have been blocked, pressured, but have resisted and have decided be free, independent, and with your own criteria.
The visit, he added, will review matters of interest to both peoples and reiterate, above all, the firm will to continue strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation with this sister country.
The Cuban delegation also includes the Vice Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca; the holders of the Health, Agriculture and Food Industry portfolios; as well as deputy ministers of Foreign Affairs, Energy and Mines and Foreign Trade, among other government officials.
The Gratitude of a Country to its Collaborators
The gratitude of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz towards the work of the Cuban collaborators was known by those who, on behalf of that internationalist force, exchanged with the Prime Minister, as part of their official work agenda in this nation.
"We are the grateful ones," said Marrero Cruz, on behalf of the Cuban people and Government, and the First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
Marrero Cruz pondered the supportive contribution of his compatriots on Venezuelan soil, and the additional merit of carrying out his work in a context as complicated as that imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the US blockade, exacerbated by similar opportunism and crudeness in the two sister nations.
At the meeting, the Head of Government offered an update on the indicators for confronting the pandemic in Cuba, which speak of control and levels of stability, which allow us to maintain an active life economically and socially.
Regarding government management, he reviewed some of the important tasks such as the implementation of the Economic and Social Strategy, the application of measures to stimulate agriculture, which have begun to give results in certain areas, the improvement of economic actors, the strengthening of the state company, still far from the pace that is required, as well as attention to people and communities in vulnerable situations.
The Cuban Prime Minister also made reference to the communicational war waged against Cuba, and insisted on the need to develop a defense strategy for the Revolution. "We have to go on the offensive," he said.
Marrero Cruz was also interested in the living conditions of the collaborators, their concerns, the results of each of the social missions, together with the projections for the current year.
This visit, he affirmed, will be the starting point to undertake an update of the cooperation agreement with this sister country, based on the founding principles defended by Fidel and Chávez and that sealed an unbreakable friendship between both peoples.
Cuba, Venezuela Inside
Before issuing his assessments, the leader received detailed information on the work of the more than 19,000 Cuban men and women who provide services in Venezuela; in this sense, Julio César García Rodríguez, at the head of the Office of Social Missions here, gave an account of more than 1,500 joint projects, executed in the interest of the two nations, since the signing of the Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement.
In that time, Julio César added, our health professionals have managed to save 1,200,000 lives, and have restored sight to 3,000,000 Venezuelans, through Operation Miracle.
Millionaire figures were also spoken on behalf of the educational missions, which, after reducing the illiteracy rate from eight to two percent, through the Yes, I Do Can method; keep the educational level of the Venezuelan people on the rise. Notable in this sense are the 32 doctors and more than 200 master's degrees in pedagogical sciences, trained by specialists from our country.
The dream of the Commander in Chief and Cuba's Best Friend came true, it also surfaced during the talk, in the interventions of other representatives such as Aisis Magaña, from Barrio Adentro Deportivo, which, since its inception, has seen some 44,000 technicians, specialists and trainers for this country. With his arrival here, Venezuelan sport ceased to be the exclusive preserve of the elites, to become the privilege of the masses. During the previous Olympic cycle, the one with the best historical results for the sport in this nation, Cuba had an impact on nine out of ten medals won by Venezuela in foreign competitions.
Equally favorable is the balance of mutual collaboration in other missions such as agri-food, promoter of a promising project as part of a binational program, together with others such as Culture.
Venezuelans are grateful to the latter for community culture projects, among them, the Colmenita Bolivariana, in constant growth, to the point of having today 93 beehive centers, with more than 3,000 children and adolescents benefited in the 24 states of the country.
During the debate Iscander Morales Suárez, director of the Cuban Energy Mission, also spoke, explaining the main tasks in which they are immersed, among them, thermographic diagnoses, transformer repair and maintenance of substation security systems.
Next, José Antonio Machado Reyes, in charge of the Medical Mission, elaborated on the work undertaken for the reopening of all health services, notably diminished by the effects of the pandemic.
Regarding the confrontation with COVID-19, specifically, he spoke of the work of collaborators in 410 centers, 43 of them located in border areas and difficult to access, as well as the support for vaccination that already reaches more than 2,000,000 of Venezuelans, including more than 263,000 under 18 years of age.
Machado Reyes also drew attention to the teaching work, the recovery and maintenance of infrastructure and the measures adopted to improve care for health personnel.
Minutes before the enriching exchange, the Cuban Prime Minister toured areas of the Doctor Salvador Allende Comprehensive Health Center, in Chuao, a metropolitan neighborhood in the state of Miranda. The facility, which sees between 70 and 90 patients a day, has been renovated in recent months; it is equipped with means of advanced technology, and provides twenty services in 16 medical specialties.