Interview with Ambassador of Venezuela to Haiti, Mr. Pedro Gonzalez Canino http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_63424.shtml

Ambassador Canino: You see, it is the signing of the act of independence. It's not just me as an ambassador but all Venezuelans who see the participation of Haitians in the war of independence of Venezuela in a very positive light. Our liberator Simon Bolivar said, "Haiti is the mother of Venezuelan independence.

Haiti Progrès: Venezuela helps Haiti a great deal as part of many cooperations. Can you tell us what this help consists of?Ambassador Canino: The cooperation is vast and deep. Even the Yankees' representative in Haiti, Bill Clinton, acknowledged in several international meetings that the Cuban and Venezuelan cooperation brings much more support to Haiti than all the other donors. No one can hide this truth. It is solidarity that the Venezuelan cooperation brings to the Haitian people. Our government, the Venezuelan people and Commander Chavez offer cooperation to the country.

In the health sector, $40 million are invested, in conjunction with the Cuban cooperation. Cuba has had doctors working for the welfare of the people of Haiti for 13 years. And Venezuela also participates in the work being done, with 20 million given before the earthquake and another 20 million after the earthquake. So we have built with that money 15 diagnostic centers across the country. We have made donations to hospitals and paid doctors. We have also provided housing for them.

We also donate for agriculture. We are involved in rice production in the Artibonite Department and the Central (Central Plateau), with 9.3 million dollars.We also participate in housing by building homes in the area of the Renaissance in Cité Soleil. I am not speaking of miserable construction. I'm talking about houses for chosen Haitian families where everyone can live humanely and for free.After the earthquake of January 12, 2010, Venezuela erased a debt of $395 million that Haiti owed her.In energy, Venezuela installed three power plants in Haiti. One in Cap-Haitien, one in Gonaives, and a third in Port-au-Prince.

We arrived at a compromise to provide the country with fourteen thousand barrels of oil under the Petro Caribe agreement recognized by the Haitian Parliament, with extremely favorable conditions to the country.For the Literacy Project, Venezuela contributed 5 million dollars.After the earthquake, we donated 9,000 tons of top-quality food.