“We deeply regret the death of the President of the Republic of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse. We strongly condemn the violent act that caused his death, and convey our condolences to family members and the sister people of Haiti. We call for peace,” the Cuban President stated in a message on Twitter.

Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated between midnight and dawn in an armed attack. The country’s interim Prime Minister, Claude Joseph, confirmed the news in a statement.

Around one o’clock in the morning, a group of individuals attacked the President’s private residence and mortally wounded him, Joseph’s statement indicates.

(Taken from Granma)

The northwest of the country was the worst hit. Dr. Oscar Fonseca Almaguer, in charge of the group of Cuban medical personnel working in the department of Artibonite, received a call from the director of the La Providence Hospital following the quake, and all personnel were immediately mobilized to treat those injured following the collapse of homes and the local church in the commune of Gros-Morne.

“We quickly sent a team to Gros-Morne consisting of a surgeon, an anesthetist, an orthopedist, a scrub nurse, a laboratory technician, and four Comprehensive General Medicine specialists. Among those rescued was a Haitian doctor, a wall of his home had collapsed on top of him, which caused a giant hematoma in the lumbosacral region. He was operated on urgently, without any complications. They also reported that 11 patients had been treated there, none serious,” explained Evelio Betancourt Tamayo, head of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti.

A surgeon and an orthopedist were subsequently sent to Port-de-Paix commune, where they attended seven patients, none in a life-threatening condition, all with minor injuries and most suffering panic attacks. That team joined a group of paramedics to assist in search and rescue efforts.

“They all arrived around 6:30 am on October 7. From that time until four in the afternoon, no new cases were reported, so it was decided to relocate those collaborators to the Bassin Bleu commune, about 30 kilometers from the site, so that they would be ready to provide their assistance if needed, together with the 28 collaborators already working there,” Betancourt explained.

Leaders of Cuban personnel stationed in the Nord-Ouest and Artibonite departments visited the Port-de-Paix district to evaluate damages on the 7th, and met with Haitian authorities. The first 5.2 magnitude aftershock occurred that day, and was felt in the departments of Nord-Ouest, Nord, Artibonite, and Nord-Est.

Port-de-Paix’s hospital was practically unusable due to the extensive damage it suffered. Twelve Haitian doctors, nurses and paramedics provided services in the areas surrounding the institution, as even the operating room was in danger of collapse.

On October 8, at one o’clock in the morning, another quake of magnitude 4.2 was reported, 33km from Port-de-Paix, with no reports of material damage or loss of life. It wasn’t felt in any other departments of Haiti. There were no further aftershocks, and the country began to return to normal.

The 581 Cuban collaborators who work in the country are guaranteed one hundred percent of reserves in emergency situations. The leadership of the medical brigade immediately contacted those closest to the events to learn of the situation on the ground.

“In none of the sites where we work and live were there any lamentable incidents, nor in those communes,” Dr. Betancourt Tamayo told Granma International. The epicenter of the quake was located in the sea, near Tortuga Island.

As of October 9, no Cuban personnel remain working in the affected area, since their presence is no longer required. However, 28 collaborators continue to be stationed in the nearby commune of Bassin Bleu, and are ready to respond to any aftershocks.

The head of the Cuban Medical Brigade pointed out that at the moment, collaborators are planning a series of activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the island’s health cooperation efforts in Haiti. “Two groups of the brigade are carrying out screening, and running mobile clinics in the communes of Gros Morne and Port-de-Paix, in order to opportunely detect new cases of disease,” he concluded.

The Cuban medical brigade arrived in Haiti in 1998, with about 350 members, as a result of the destruction caused by Hurricanes George and Mitch.

In 2010, the brigade increased to include more than 700 personnel, who were joined by 380 graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine from 27 countries, to respond to the emergency situation in the aftermath of the earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people, injured another 300,000 and left 1.5 million Haitians homeless.

Cuban medical collaborators also helped the Haitian government control the serious cholera outbreak that ensued, which claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people.

Today the Cuban medical brigade in Haiti is made up of 581 collaborators, of whom 173 are doctors and 331 are women.

The Cuban Medical Brigade is responsible for:

- 21 community referral hospitals

- 31 rehabilitation wards

- 14 health centers

- 1 Operation Miracle ophthalmological center

- 1 comprehensive care room for collaborators

- 1 ortho-prosthesis workshop

- 1 electromedical workshop

Services provided over 20 years of uninterrupted solidarity:

- 29,671,562 patients attended, of whom 11,279,654 in their own homes

- 577,421 operations, including 201,477 major surgeries

- 178,104 deliveries (18,390 by caesarean section)

- 71,859 patients treated through Operation Miracle (ophthalmology)

- 320,941 lives saved

Source: Statistics provided by the Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti

(Granma)

With maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h, placing it in category four on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, the powerful storm struck the Haitian city of Anglais at around 7am (local time), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Before making landfall in Haiti, Matthew had already caused floods in 11 communities, reported Edgar Celestin, the country’s Civil Protection spokesman speaking to AFP.

Waters inundated the national highway in Anglais, while the hurricane also caused damage to precarious buildings.

Floods were also seen in Les Cayes, Haiti’s third largest city.

Marie-Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of Civil Protection reported the occurrence of landslides, noting that many people living in the most vulnerable areas refused to evacuate and leave their belongings behind.
These zones include extremely poor, densely populated neighborhoods such as Cite Soleil and Port-au-Prince’s Cite L’Eternel, on the coast.

A total of 648 Cuban collaborators are currently offering services in Haiti, including doctors and processionals participating on other missions. “All are perfectly well,” stated Dr. Lorenzo Mojena, head of the Cuban medical brigade in that country, speaking with Granma International via telephone. “The hurricane forecasts were correct, with strong rains, winds, and extensive flooding,” stated Mojena at about 6pm, on October 4, when the country was still experiencing the full force of the storm.

Dr. Mojena reiterated that the most severely affected area was the country’s southern region, home to remote communities and deteriorated infrastructure marked by the fallen buildings, collapsed bridges and communication pylons, placing the Haitian people once again in a critical situation.

He explained that the Cuban Embassy had set-up a command center to ensure the safety of collaborators and the functioning of the brigade and other government initiatives in the country. He expressed his gratitude for the close communication maintained with authorities from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

“We are 100% willing to work on epidemiological control and prevention efforts, and are set to see a difficult situation, as the rains have complicated the country’s healthcare system,” highlighted the head of Cuba’s medical brigade.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) reported at least four dead and 8,546 persons evacuated in Santo Domingo and provinces bordering Haiti.

Intense rains and floods were reported in the capital of Santo Domingo, where educational authorities suspended classes until Wednesday, October 5, in 24 of the country’s 32 provinces, as a preventative measure.

Hurricane Matthew also hit Jamaica, where the National Army and military reserves helped with emergency efforts, while buses were sent to evacuate people living in the most vulnerable areas.

Granma International also established contact with this Caribbean nation, where 209 collaborators are currently offering their services. According to Dr. Héctor Mustelier, head of the island’s medical brigade in Jamaica, recovery efforts have increased as the rains have subsided.
He noted that the Cuban healthcare professionals are fine and have responded to the call by the country’s health authorities to aid in recovery efforts. Mustelier also pointed out that on October 5, all brigade members returned to their normal activities in the institutions where they work.

“Now, the most important thing is health promotion and prevention to avoid the spread of diseases following the rains,” he noted.

After hitting Cuba, the hurricane is forecast to make its way north-west toward the Bahamas, passing close by Florida’s east coast (where a state of emergency has been declared) in the United States, later in the week.

“We haven’t felt the onslaught yet, but necessary measures have already been taken to protect collaborators in the Bahamas,” stated Dr. Tomás Reinoso, head of the Cuban medical brigade in that country, speaking to Granma International.

Commenting on actions undertaken, he noted that sufficient supplies and water have been stored for the duration of the storm; work timetables have been modified with emergency or regular service collaborators only working in healthcare facilities, all the while protected within these buildings.

Dr. Reinoso also highlighted the close and frequent communication maintained with the Central Unit for Medical Collaboration (UCCM) in Cuba and the island’s Ministry of Pubic Health, which has also taken on the task of contacting the families of brigade members to keep them up-dated on the welfare of collaborators – a total of 114 based in the country.

“Measures have been taken,” noted the brigade director, adding that Matthew is scheduled to hit the island with devastating force, according to news reports. Dr. Reinoso explained that it has been a long time since a hurricane of this magnitude has hit the Bahamas and could potentially be the strongest of the decade.

At press time Granma International also contacted Dr. Regla Angulo Pardo, director of the UCCM, who confirmed that once the Hurricane watch had been issued, work began to identify countries that would be affected in the Caribbean, and where Cuban collaborators are working: Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
“The Ministry of Public Health’s main office, with which the UCCM is affiliated, was activated, and as such close communication has been maintained every six hours with the heads of the medical brigades through reports and telephone calls, in order to verify that all protection measures are being carried out,” she highlighted.

The director of the UCCM noted that every single collaborator has been contacted, all of whom have water, food and fuel reserves for a minimum of 10 days, as well as other supplies such as flashlights, candles, matches, and phone credit, in order to remain in contact.

“All collaborators are in safe places and those working alone have also been moved to these zones. They are also fully ready to attend any emergency and participate in recovery efforts in these countries,” she stated.
In order to reassure collaborators in regards to actions being undertaken in Cuba in light of Hurricane Matthew, the UCCM is making efforts to keep them up-dated on the impact of the storm in the east of the island.

(Granma)

During the meeting the two leaders reviewed the cooperation Cuba provides this sister country in various sectors, and Raúl reiterated Cuba’s commitment to continue supporting Haiti’s recovery and development. They emphasized the good condition of bilateral relations, and discussed regional as well as international issues of mutual interest.

Accompanying the distinguished guest were Haitian Foreign Minister Pierrot Delienne and business attaché Geri Benoit.

Also attending on the Cuban side was Marcelino Medina González, first deputy foreign minister.

Launched with massive rallies were the campaigns of 55 candidates who will face off in the Presidential election’s first round, scheduled for October 25.

The opposition party Fanmi Lavalas took advantage of an event this past September 30 commemorating the 24th anniversary of the 1991 coup which ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Aristide himself personally introduced the group’s candidate Maryse Narcisse, before thousands of supporters and sympathizers who came to the rally from all parts of the capital.

Other aspiring Presidential candidates, including Jude Celestin, Jean Henri Ceant and Jean-Charles Mose, also held their first rallies around this time.

Celestin, candidate for the Alternative League for Progress and Emancipation in Haiti (Lapeh), attracted a large crowd in Croix-des-Bouquets, some 20 kilometers from Port-au-Prince.

Ceant, leader of Renmen Ayiti, (Love Haiti) met with his many supporters in the popular neighborhood of Bel-Air, and promised to struggle against inequality and launched his new slogan, “A better Haiti is possible.”

Former parliamentarian Jean-Charles Mose, candidate of the Pitit Dessalines, (Sons of Dessalines) launched his campaign in Saint-Michel de l’Atalaye (Artibonite) with a promise to fight corruption.

DISSATISFACTION PERSISTS

Despite the prevailing campaign environment, the intolerant positions of some groups, and dissatisfaction with electoral authorities, persist.

A discussion held at the university (Fasch), for example, with Sauveur Pierre Etienne, candidate from the Organization of the People in Struggle (OPL), was interrupted by fistfights and thrown chairs.

Additionally, individuals and organizations continue to challenge the results announced by the provisional Electoral Council (CEP) for the first round of parliamentary elections.

Voter turnout for this election, held August 9, barely reached 18%, and only eight deputies and two senators were elected, with 139 seats to be filled.

Leaders of various oppositions groups accuse the CEP of partiality since all the candidates elected are supporters of the governing Haitian Tet Kale Party (PHTK), which had the most candidates running.

The August 9 vote was marked by violence which left a dozen dead, several injured and 137 arrested, among these five candidates who are facing charges.

Dissatisfaction with the CEP has been expressed in different ways, with street protests, calls for the dissolution of this body, and demands for the creation of a transition government.

Members of the CEP have been attacked and threatened.

RECENT SURVEY

A public opinion poll, conducted between September 29 and October 3 by Sigma Stat Consulting Group & Associates, places the Fanmi Lavalas candidate in first place, with Maryse Narcisse garnering the support of 27.9% of prospective voters, followed by Mose Jovenel (from the governing PHTK) with 18.9%.

In third place is Jude Celestin with 14.9%; followed by Jean-Charles Mose, with 11.8 %. No other candidate reached 7%.

The survey was conducted three days after former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide participated in a Lavalas event and called on Haitians to vote for Maryse Narcisse.

(Granma)

According to the organizers of the event, important decisions made last June in Nicaragua at the Eighth Summit of Heads of State and Government within the group are to be implemented.

At that summit it was agreed that Petrocaribe funds would be invested in areas that include maritime and air transport, telecommunications, manufacturing, tourism, commerce and culture. In the social area, three plans were defined: to eradicate iliteracy and improve educational and cultural instruction, expand Operation Miracle, designed to assist with vision problems, and promote food programs.

“We are proud to be actors in and witnesses to the birth of this new mechanism for regional solidarity, and we support economic growth and job creation,” said Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe.

Petrocaribe members include: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Venezuela.

According to its members, the group is based on respect, complementarity, equity and fair financing with equal benefits for all.

Rosusseff (Brazil) discussed migration and cooperation-related issues in this capital before visiting the squadron of Brazilian UN blue helmets deployed here.

According to a communiqué of the Haitian presidency, the presidents reviewed a bilateral agenda, placing emphasis on the process of reconstruction and economic and social development

in Haiti.

According to the program of the visit, Martelly and Rousseff would also discuss the migration issue in the wake of adoption by Brazil of a new mode of visa issued exclusively for Haitian citizens.

The measure stemmed from a mass wave of Haitians heading for Brazil after the quake, reaching some 5,000 people early this year, according to Brazilian official figures.

At the end of the meeting, Rousseff headed for the barracks of Brazilian troops that are part of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

Brazil currently leads the UN contingent with more than 2,000 troops, deployed in Haiti since 2004. Rousseff arrived in Port au Prince this morning from Cuba, and was welcomed by president Martelly. She is scheduled to return to her country tonight.

by www. prensa.latina.cu

When René Préval took the oath of Haiti’s presidential office in a ceremony at Haiti’s National Palace on May 14, 2006, he was anxious to allay fears in Washington that he would not be a reliable partner. “He wants to bury once and for all the suspicion in Haiti that the United States is wary of him,” said US Ambassador Janet Sanderson in a March 26, 2006, cable. “He is seeking to enhance his status domestically and internationally with a successful visit to the United States.”

This was so important that Préval “declined invitations to visit France, Cuba, and Venezuela in order to visit Washington first,” Sanderson noted. “Preval has close personal ties to Cuba, having received prostate cancer treatment there, but has stressed to the Embassy that he will manage relations with Cuba and Venezuela solely for the benefit of the Haitian people, and not based on any ideological affinity toward those governments.”

Soon, however, it became clear that managing relations with those US adversaries “solely for the benefit to the Haitian people” would be enough to put Préval in Washington’s bad graces—especially when it came to the sensitive matter of oil.

Immediately after his inauguration ceremony, Préval summoned the press to a room in the National Palace, where he inked a deal with Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel to join Caracas’s Caribbean oil alliance, PetroCaribe. Under the terms of the deal, Haiti would buy oil from Venezuela, paying only 60 percent up front with the remainder payable over twenty-five years at 1 percent interest.

As the press conference rolled on, just a mile away from the National Palace, in the bay of Port-au-Prince, sat a tanker from Venezuela carrying 100,000 barrels of PetroCaribe diesel and unleaded fuel.

Préval’s dramatic inauguration day oil deal won high marks from many Haitians, who had demonstrated against high oil prices and the lack of electricity. But it ushered in a multiyear geopolitical battle among Caracas, Havana and Washington over how oil would be delivered to Haiti and who would benefit.

The revelations come in a trove of 1,918 cables made available to the Haitian weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté by the transparency group WikiLeaks. As part of a collaboration with Haïti Liberté, The Nation is publishing English-language articles based on those cables.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the disclosures in this article.

According to the leaked US Embassy cables, Washington and its allies, including Big Oil majors like ExxonMobil and Chevron, maneuvered aggressively behind the scenes to scuttle the PetroCaribe deal.

For the Haitian government the oil support from Venezuela was key in providing basic needs and services to 10 million Haitians, securing a guaranteed supply of oil at stable prices, and laying the basis for Haitian energy independence from the United States.

Further, Haiti “would save USD 100 million per year from the delayed payments,” noted the Embassy in a July 7, 2006, cable. Préval earmarked these funds for hospitals, schools and emergency needs, such as disaster relief. But the US Embassy opposed the deal.

“Post [the Embassy] will continue to pressure Preval against joining PetroCaribe,” Ambassador Sanderson wrote in one April 19, 2006, cable. “Ambassador will see Preval’s senior advisor Bob Manuel today. In previous meetings, he has acknowledged our concerns and is aware that a deal with Chavez would cause problems with us.”

In a cable nine days later, on April 28, Sanderson recognized that Préval was under “increasing pressure to produce immediate and tangible changes in Haiti’s desperate situation.” She also noted that “Preval has privately expressed some disdain toward Chavez with Emboffs [Embassy officials]…. Nevertheless, the chance to score political points [with the Haitian people] and generate revenue he can control himself proved too good an opportunity to miss.”

Sanderson, who had been appointed ambassador to Haiti by President Bush, is now deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration.

To implement the PetroCaribe deal, Haiti had to meet certain terms and reorganize its internal oil market. As a result, it would be almost two years before PetroCaribe oil would begin consistently flowing into Haiti. The key obstacles, though, remained the US Embassy and Big Oil, which controlled oil shipping and distribution networks in Haiti, according to the WikiLeaks cables.

“International oil companies are increasingly concerned—both Texaco and Esso will meet with the Ambassador in the near future—that they will have to buy their oil from the GOH [Government of Haiti],” wrote Ambassador Sanderson in a May 17, 2006, cable, concluding that “we will continue to raise our concerns about the PetroCaribe deal with the highest levels of government.”

Christian Porter, ExxonMobil’s country manager, “speaking for both ExxonMobil and Chevron, stressed that they would not be willing” to buy oil from the Haitian government “because they would lose their off-shore margins and because of PetroCaribe’s unreliable reputation” for timely deliveries, Sanderson wrote. She concluded that it was a “dubious proposal that neither the U.S. oil companies in Haiti—responsible for about 45 percent of Haiti’s petroleum imports—nor Venezuela, for that matter, is likely to agree to.”

She was wrong about Venezuela but right about the oil companies. An October 13, 2006, cable explains that ExxonMobil and Texaco/Chevron were “shocked” but hadn’t “informed the government of their concerns,” which Sanderson encouraged the two companies to do.

Sanderson reiterated that despite her “numerous attempts to discuss (and discourage) GOH intentions to move forward with the PetroCaribe agreement, the GOH insists the agreement, implemented in full, will result in a net gain for Haiti.”

The US ambassador also detailed how the oil companies were attempting to sabotage the agreement: “Following Preval’s September 27 meeting with all four oil companies… the oil industry association (Association des Professionals du Petrole—APP) received an invitation to meet with representatives of the Venezuelan oil company who were in Haiti. All four companies refused to attend. Also, the companies received letters separately requesting information on importation and distribution from the GOH on October 9. So far, no one has responded.”

Sanderson concluded one long October 13 cable by explaining how she had stressed “the larger negative message that [the PetroCaribe deal] would send to the international community [i.e., Washington and its allies] at a time when the GOH is trying to increase foreign investment,” and lamenting that “President Preval and his inner circle are seduced by [PetroCaribe’s] payment plan.”

The Oil Companies and US Embassy Dig In

With parliamentary ratification and technical details resolved, by early 2007 Préval thought he finally had everything in place to get PetroCaribe implemented. But the oil companies were not done trying to undermine the deal.

Michael Lecorps, appointed by Préval to head the government’s Monetization Office for Aid and Development Programs (formally known as the PL-480 office), which would handle PetroCaribe matters, told the oil companies that they would have to purchase PetroCaribe oil from the Haitian government, but the US companies said no. Quickly, there was a standoff.

Lecorps, “apparently infuriated by Chevron’s lack of cooperation with the GoH, stressed that Petrocaribe is no longer negotiable,” the chargé d’affaires, Thomas C. Tighe, reported in a January 18, 2007, cable. He also said that “ExxonMobil has made it clear that it will not cooperate with the current GoH proposal either.”

“Chevron country manager Patryck Peru Dumesnil confirmed his company’s anti-Petrocaribe position and said that ExxonMobil, the only other U.S. oil company operating in Haiti, has told the GoH that it will not import Petrocaribe products,” Tighe wrote in the same cable.

The embassy’s political officer reported that Chevron “refused to move forward with the discussions because ‘their representatives would rather import their own petroleum products.’”

Tighe continued that the Haitian government was “enraged that ‘an oil company which controls only 30% of Haiti’s petroleum products’ would have the audacity to try and elude an agreement that would benefit the Haitian population.”

The Haitian government stressed that they “would not be held hostage to ‘capitalist attitudes’ toward Petrocaribe and that if the GoH could not find a compromise with certain oil companies, the companies may have to leave Haiti,” reported Tighe.

Enter Hugo Chávez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrived in Haiti on March 12, 2007, to a spontaneous hero’s welcome by tens of thousands of Haitians, who jogged alongside his motorcade from the airport to the National Palace. The Venezuelan president came bearing many gifts.

“Venezuela pledged funds for improvement to provincial Haitian airports and airport runways (also previously announced) and experts on economic planning to help identify development priorities. Other pledges include Cuban commitment to bring medical coverage to all Haitian communes, Cuban and Venezuelan electrical experts to improve energy generation, and a trilateral cooperation bureau in Port-au-Prince,” Sanderson wrote.

In subsequent cables, Sanderson sounds increasingly cynical about Préval’s arm’s-length posture toward Chávez, which she clearly regards as disingenuous.

“To hear President Rene Preval tell it, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ visit to Haiti on March 12 was a logistical nightmare and an annoyance to the GoH,” Sanderson says in the “Summary” of that cable.

“Preval told Ambassador the evening of March 13 that Chavez was a difficult guest” and “did not have a GOH invitation but insisted on coming to mark Venezuelan flag day.”

Préval apparently tried to put Sanderson’s mind at ease.

“Responding to Ambassador’s observation that giving Chavez a platform to spout anti-American slogans here was hard to explain given our close relationship and support of Haiti and of Preval’s government in particular, Preval stressed that he had worked hard to stop much of Chavez’ proposed grandstanding,” Sanderson wrote. The ambassador reported that Préval said he is “‘just an independent petit bourgeoisie’ and doesn’t go for the grand gestures that Chavez favors. Haiti needs aid from all its friends, Preval added, and he is sure that the US understands his difficult position.”

Sanderson concluded, in frustration, “At no time has Preval given any indication that he is interested in associating Haiti with Chavez’s broader ‘revolutionary agenda’” but “it is neither in his character—nor in his calculation—to repudiate Chavez, even as the Venezuelan abuses his hospitality at home.”

Préval’s “Obliviousness”

Despite Sanderson’s scoldings and Préval’s reassurances, the Haitian president kept angering Washington. On April 26, 2007, senior presidential adviser Fritz Longchamp told the embassy’s political counselor that “Preval will attend the ALBA [Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas] summit in Venzuela [sic] as a ‘special observer’ for the express purpose of finalizing a tri-lateral assistance agreement between Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba, whereby Venezuela will finance the presence of Cuban doctors and other technicians in rural Haiti,” according to a cable Sanderson wrote the same day.

Sanderson said the meeting with the embassy was “specifically to raise our displeasure with Preval’s Venezuela trip” and that “Longchamp’s reaction probably reflects Preval’s own obliviousness to the impact and consequences his accommodation of Chavez has on relations with us.” Longchamp “betrayed a common trait among Haitian officials in misjudging the relative importance that U.S. policy makers attach to Haiti versus Venezuela and Chavez’ regional impact.”

The Haitians, in other words, were too convinced of their own relevance to grasp that the real concern for the United States was stemming the Chávez tide. Sanderson suggested that the United States “convey our discontent with Preval’s actions at the highest possible level when he next visits Washington.”

Préval returned from Caracas with “Chavez’ promises to provide a combined total of 160 megawatts of electricity” to Haiti, after “parading with Chavez’ rogues gallery [sic] of ALBA leaders,” Sanderson fumed in a May 4, 2007, cable.

She outlined the essence of the Venezuelan/Cuban aid package: “The Cubans will replace two million light bulbs throughout Port-au-Prince with low-energy bulbs. The initiative will cost USD four million, but save the country 60 megawatts of electricity, which costs the country USD 70 million annually. Venezuela promised to repair the power plant in Carrefour, generating an additional 40 megawatts of electricity. Additionally, Venezuela will by December of this year build new power plants across the country to add 30 megawatts to Port-au-Prince’s electrical grid and 15 additional megawatts each for Gonaives and Cap-Haitian, all of which will use heavy Venezuelan fuel oil, a more efficient and less-expensive alternative to diesel.”

Meanwhile, as this broader energy package took shape, the tensions over PetroCaribe were still simmering.

On May 4, Sanderson sent a second cable explaining that “the head of Haiti’s Petrocaribe office, Michael Lecorps, gave the four oil companies operating in Haiti until July 1 to sign the GoH contract on Petrocaribe,” hoping that “the four companies will sign the agreement voluntarily, instead of passing legislation obliging oil companies operating in Haiti to participate in the Petrocaribe agreement.”

After talking to ExxonMobil Caribbean sales manager Bill Eisner, the embassy reported that Eisner “was shocked when he realized that Lecorps expected the oil industry to coordinate the Petrocaribe deal on behalf of the GoH” which would “make the oil industry prisoner to two incompetent governments,” Haiti and Venezuela, in Sanderson’s words.

President Bush took up the issue of Préval’s relationship with Chávez during the Haitian president’s spring 2007 visit to Washington, after which Sanderson expressed “hope that President Bush’s clear message on Venezuela sank in, but only time will tell.”

Two weeks after Préval’s return, on June 12–13, 2007, a transport strike “gripped Haiti’s major cities and underscored a mounting crisis over fuel prices, which rose nearly 20 percent in just two weeks,” Inter Press Service reported at the time. Many believed that Haiti’s joining PetroCaribe “would alleviate high gasoline costs,” and word was leaking out that “the two large US oil companies that export to Haiti are said to have stonewalled negotiations” for PetroCaribe’s implementation. The July 1 deadline for PetroCaribe compliance was fast approaching.

The standoff over PetroCaribe would continue through the rest of 2007, with Chevron the most resistant to working within the PetroCaribe framework. Haiti needed Chevron to ship the oil from Venezuela.

“It was ridiculous because they had been buying and shipping petroleum products from Venezuela for 25 years,” Lecorps, the Haitian official who oversaw PetroCaribe, told the weekly Haitian newspaper Haïti Liberté. “And you know, Chevron is an American company, so maybe there were some politics behind that too, maybe because of Venezuela and Chávez. But they never said anything about that.”

Lecorps’s suspicions that Chevron had political concerns were warranted.

After returning to Haiti on December 22, 2007, from a PetroCaribe summit, Préval announced that the negotiations with Chevron were nearing a close. “We’re going to sign with Chevron and then we’re going to start ordering oil,” he said at the airport, according to the Associated Press, adding that Venezuelan technicians would visit Haiti to consult on the project.

But, as Sanderson noted in a February 15, 2008, cable, “Chevron management in the U.S. does not want to make a lot of ‘noise’ about the agreement because they do not want to appear to support PetroCaribe.”

Sanderson explained that the deal was sealed when “Chevron finally obtained its desired terms from the GOH,” whereby the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA, “will sell to the GoH, which will then sell to private oil traders, who finally will sell to the oil companies in Haiti for distribution…. Chevron also agreed to ship the refined petrol on one of its tankers. The GoH expects to receive a PetroCaribe shipment in late February or early March.”

And PetroCaribe shipments, covering all of Haiti’s fuel needs, did begin on March 8, 2008, marking a victory for Venezuela and Haiti in surmounting the roadblocks thrown up by the US Embassy and Big Oil.

The extraordinary story that the Haiti WikiLeaks cables tell of the US Embassy’s campaign against PetroCaribe—which provides such obvious benefits for Haiti—lays bare the real priorities of “Haiti’s most important and reliable bi-lateral partner,” as Sanderson calls the United States.

As for Préval and his officials, the cables indicate that, faced with Washington’s might, they employed a preferred form of Haitian resistance, dating back to slavery, known as “marronage,” where you pretend to go along with something but do the opposite. This dynamic of US pressure and subtle Haitian pushback has persisted under the Obama administration, which has moved to marginalize Préval’s INITE political party in favor of new president Michel Martelly and his group of pro-American Haitian business supporters.

Under President Martelly, the fate of PetroCaribe remains unclear. But those who appreciate what the program has done for Haiti see reason to worry. While Préval tried to walk the battle-line between Washington and the ALBA alliance, Martelly had a pre-inauguration meeting not with the foreign minister of Venezuela, but that of Colombia, whose US-oriented neoliberal development plan he has said he will emulate.

Preval and Lazo reviewed the fruitful bilateral cooperation relations, expanded after the earthquake that struck the Haitian capital in February 2010, killing 250,000 people.

Lazo also met President-elect Michael Martelly at his office in Petionville, and will attend his inauguration on Saturday in the National Assembly.

Martelly expressed the desire to maintain and strengthen collaborative links between the two countries, while Lazo reiterated Cuba’s willingness to continue cooperation and work for the people.

Lazo’s agenda included an interview with outgoing Prime Minister, Jean Max Bellerive, at his official residence to review the development of ties between both nations.

Lazo also met at the Embassy of Cuba with the heads of missions of collaboration and Ambassador Ricardo Garcia.

Bruno Rodríguez

Just one year ago we, more than 50 governments and other international actors, committed ourselves at UN headquarters to provide substantial cooperation directed at the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti following the disaster caused by the earthquake of January 12th of that year.  In terms of statements, it was a commendable show of solidarity.

The committed sums of 9 billion dollars for rebuilding, of which 5 thousand million would be paid in the first two years, plus the valuable additional offers in kind, even though they were insufficient, were demonstrating the undeniable will to cooperate.  The declared principle of channelling this aid with full adherence to the priorities of the Haitian government, so as to strengthen the authority of the State, involved the universal respect for the sovereignty of this beleaguered nation and the prerogatives of its government authorities.

There appeared to be a universal will to provide aid to this heroic nation, the first nation to break the colonial yoke and to abolish slavery in the hemisphere of the Americas.

Unfortunately, what has happened since has not been consistent with the spirit ruling that conference on March 31st of 2010.  Nevertheless, many of the self-proclaimed “principal donors” continue to dedicate exorbitant resources to war and military intervention.

The sums for financial and material aid that were committed to, although insufficient in the face of the problem’s magnitude, have not been paid.  The will of the Haitian government has not been respected, nor have its priorities been attended to.  The rebuilding of Haiti, to which all of us committed ourselves, is a task which is still pending.

In the months following the terrible quake, Haiti seemed to be ripped apart by the governments of the most powerful and industrialized countries that were distributing their aid, in an arbitrary and arrogant fashion, via their voracious companies and some of their wealthiest NGOs.

Even today, what continues to prevail is the channelling of funds and resources outside of the programmes and control of the Haitian government, leading to waste, corruption and the satisfaction of very marginal or selective interests.

Cuba shares the concerns expressed by the CARICOM Heads of Government in the communiqué issued by its Inter-Session Meeting last February 26th, when they critically referred to the Recovery Fund, the Interim Commission for Haitian Recovery, their working methods, to necessary respect for the priorities of the Haitian government and the insufficient flow of committed resources.

Cuba has concentrated its efforts in the area where the greatest impact could be achieved, public health, a key element for the social sustainability and stability of Haiti.

In complete coordination with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA, as it is referred to in Spanish), and under the indications and priorities of the Haitian government, we have been tirelessly working to implement a program to rebuild the national health system whose essence lies in satisfying the health needs of 75% of the most needy population, with a minimum cost.

From January 12th of 2010 until today, almost 2 million patients have been cared for, more than 36,000 surgeries have been performed and almost 8,500 babies have been delivered. More than 465,000 patients have received rehabilitation treatment.

Services are being provided at 23 reference community hospitals, 30 rehab wards, 13 health centres, 2 ophthalmologic surgery posts and the Public Health Laboratory.  Throughout the 10 departments in the country, a Comprehensive Programme for Hygiene and Epidemiology is being developed.

The cooperation programme promoted by Cuba today has 1,117 health collaborators, of which 923 are Cuban and 194 come from the various countries graduating students in Cuba.

The resources generously provided in solidarity by President Hugo Chávez Frías of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have been essential.  We have also been working closely with Brazil via a Tripartite Agreement with Haiti.

Cuba has also received the backing of several countries in order to carry out this health programme.
Namibia, Norway, South Africa, Australia and Spain have contributed, along with group of individual donors, something more than 3.5 million dollars.

We are ready to work, in a strictly humanitarian fashion, with respect and in full coordination with the Haitian government, with any and all countries and organizations which have the will to take part in the rebuilding and development of its health system.

At the same time, Cuban doctors have confronted a serious cholera epidemic.  For this purpose 67 units were set up, looking after more than 73,000 patients, a third of all the cases in the country.  Of these, only 272 died, for a death rate of 0.37 %, 5 times lower than in the rest of the institutions in Haiti.  Looking after patients has demanded selflessness and the spirit of sacrifice, especially during the nights.  In the last 77 consecutive days, our medical and nursing personnel have seen no deaths due to cholera.

The creation of Active Survey Groups called “Subcomuna Adentro” was a new experience permitting the study of almost one million and seven hundred thousand people living in communities without access to health care services, and to diagnose more than 5,300 cholera cases in their very own homes.

I mention these data with all the modesty of our people, merely to argue with practical examples in support of our conviction that what Haiti needs is substantial and impartial aid, closely coordinated with the government that contributes to its development and to overcome the immense socio-economic difficulties and disparities that affect the country and impede stability and progress for its people.

Haiti does not need an occupation army; it is not, nor can it become, a United Nations protectorate.

The role of the UN is to support the government and people of Haiti in strengthening their sovereignty and self-determination. MINUSTAH forces have been in that country for a very specific mandate to promote stability, and this should be rigorously respected. MINUSTAH has no political prerogatives to get mixed up in internal affairs that are just for the Haitians; nor should it do so.  Its participation in election options cannot be acceptable; nor can it be acceptable that it applies pressure on sovereign authorities in one way or another. Nor does it have any right to speak on behalf of Haiti.

Cuba is steadfastly convinced that Haiti’s humanitarian situation is not a topic corresponding to the Security Council but rather to the General Assembly whose authority it frequently usurps, as now. It is not a matter which threatens international peace and security, nor is it resolved by military troops conceived for peace-keeping operations.  The serious consequences of the omissions, excesses, double standards and anti-democratic procedures afflicting this Council are also well-known.

The problems of this sister-nation are, in essence, caused by centuries of colonial and neo-colonial pillage, by underdevelopment, by the imposition of one of the longest and bloodiest dictatorships our region has experienced and by foreign intervention.

The inalienable right of the Haitian people to independence and self-determination ought to be, finally, respected.

Haiti needs resources for rebuilding and resources for development. It needs humanitarian commitment and not interference or political manipulation.  What we need is a minimum of generosity instead of so much egoism.

Thank you very much.