George Bush - Haiti Observer Blog

Former President René Préval's dealings with the United States began with great promise. He had made the US one of his first visits after winning the 2006 elections, and was quickly congratulated by President George Bush upon his reelection. In the States, the presidential meeting was thought to be fortuitous of the relationship between the two countries under Préval's administration.

Then René Préval surprised them. A series of cables from the US Embassy, made available to Haitian press by WikiLeaks, show that initially, Préval's offense was his dealings with Venezuela and Cuba, a circumstance the US hadn't anticipated after Préval's actions to reassure them. US Ambassador Janet Sanderson took umbrage to perceived shows of 'independence or contrariness', shown by Préval in his dealings with Ugo Chavez. This was exacerbated by Préval's signing the Venezuelan PetroCaribe alliance, a coup with considerable benefits to Haiti, including the estimated $100 million the government would save per year. Washington had made it plain they would not support a Haitian oil deal with Venezuela.

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The "Haitian Joudalist" just learned that former president George W. Bush will be going to Haiti tomorrow to monitor progress on the recovery effort. He intends to talk to the local people as well as those responsible to help.

As you may remember, president Obama assigned both President Clinton and Bush to head up a fundraising after the Haiti earthquake. This fundraising focuses mainly on long-term objectives for the people of Haiti, including job creation and economic opportunities.

This is the second trip taken by former president Bush since the earthquake. One thing that is worth noting during his first visit was allegation that he wiped his hands on former president Clinton after shaking hands with some of the victims of the earthquake.

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