Nicolas Maduro - Haiti Observer Blog

There is a proverb that states: You know your true friends in time of need". If this statement is to hold in the case of Haiti, so far, we can mention two very good friends: Venezuela as Cuba. These two leaders have come out publicly to support the Haitian people when we need them the most.

Warning from Nicolas Maduro: "Whoever messes with Haiti messes with Venezuela". This is the strongest possible way to come out in favor of the cause of the Haitian people. For that, the Haitian people will for ever remember Nicolas Maduro.

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The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has come out strong on the side of Haiti. He said that he has mediated a dialogue between Haiti and the Dominican Republic for the past Month so that they could restart bilateral talks.

These talks are to focus on: trade, border security, migration and the recent Constitutional Court ruling that removed citizenship to Dominicans with origin.

According to Maduro, Haitians and Venezuelans are unconditional brothers. He further referred to Haitians as their older and dear brothers and "whoever messes with Haiti messes with Venezuela".

Nicolas Maduro said that his government would appoint a special envoy to monitor and mediate the current conflict between Haiti and Dominican Republic to make sure that Haitian people are guaranteed their fundamental rights.

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Laurent Lamothe, Haiti's Prime Minister, flew to Nicaragua for the Eighth Petrocaribe Summit held in Managua this year. Accompanied by President of Foreign Affairs, Wenceslas Lambert, and Marie Auguste, Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Fight against Extreme Poverty, they came to negotiate with Venezuela on forming an economic zone.

Eighteen countries constitute the Petrocaribe, a consortium of South Region nations. This year's summit was held on June 28th and 29th. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela chaired the discussion panel and addressed the proposal of government of Haiti (GOH) for a trade program between the two countries. With the creation of an economic zone, it will be possible to increase Haiti's oil usage from 14,000-20,000 barrels per diem to a more beneficial quota.

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The present Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro paid his first official visit to Haiti on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. The meeting between Nicolas Maduro and the Haitian President, Michel Martelly took place on the grounds where once the National Palace stood before it collapsed during the earthquake of 2010. For several hours the meeting was held privately and was aimed towards starting the negotiations so that the flow of special funds could be renewed. Special funds refer to the oil money used primarily for infrastructure projects.

It must be noted that Venezuela is the biggest contributor or donor that has been helping Haiti to get back on its feet after the country was hit by the 2010 earthquake. A huge support came from the PetroCaribe fund of Venezuela. Millions of dollars from the PetroCaribe pact has been used by Haiti for renovating power station, rebuilding international airport runway and also for paying for fuel. The international airport in the second largest city of Haiti has been named after the former Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez.

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The 5th summit of ACS (Association of Caribbean States) was attended by heads of State and Government of 15 countries. The last confirmation was from Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro. The ACS summit was held at Petion-Ville located in Republic of Haiti from April 23 to April 26, 2013. The 15 heads of states who attended the summit of Association of Caribbean States were:
• Haitian President, Mr. Michel Martelly.
• President of Venezuela, Mr. Nicolas Maduro.
• Mr. Winston Baldwin Spencer - honorable Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.
• The Commonwealth of Bahamas' Prime Minister, Perry Christie.
• Dean Oliver Barrow - honorable Prime Minister of Belize.
• Juan Manuel Santos Calderon - President of Colombia.
• Laura Chinchilla Miranda - President of Costa Rica.
• Danilo Medina Sanchez - President of Dominican Republic.
• Otto Perez Molina - President of Guatemala.
• Porfirio Lobo Sosa - President of Honduras.
• Enrique Pena Nieto - President of Mexico.
• Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal - President of Panama.
• St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister - Denzil Douglas.
• Suriname's President - Desire Delano Bouterse.
• Sebastian Pinera - President of Chile (the observer country of Association of Caribbean States).
Siberia, Spain, Finland, Argentina and South Korea, which are the other observer countries, also attended the summit. Secretary Generals of SELA and CARICOM and representatives of ECLAC and SICA also attended the summit. Haitian President, Michel Martelly and Foreign Affairs and Worship Minister, Pierre Richard Casimir expressed that it was a great honor for Haiti to host an international summit. The theme of the summit was "Revitalizing the Vision of the Association of Caribbean States for a Stronger and More United Greater Caribbean". During the summit, issues like improvement of maritime and air transport, disaster management and sustainable trade and tourism growth were addressed.

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