Hugo Chavez’ assumption of power in Venezuela on Feb 2, 1999, coincided with a military development that was traumatic for the United States: the closure in November of that year of its primary military base in the region, Howard Air Force Base in Panama, as required by the Torrijos-Carter Treaty of 1977.

The soldiers from Howard were relocated to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico, but after massive protests there, the Pentagon closed  that base as well, transferring personnel to Texas and Florida and the US Southern Command to Miami.

As a replacement, the Pentagon chose four strategically-situated locations to control the region: Manta in Ecuador, Comalapa in El Salvador, and the islands of Aruba and Curacao, which belong to The Netherlands. The US added to their ‘traditional’ function of spying a few new official duties — combating illegal immigration to the US and monitoring drug trafficking — and various other, covert tasks: controlling the flow of petroleum and minerals, biodiversity, and fresh water. However, from the very beginning their main objectives were monitoring Venezuela and destabilising the Bolivarian Revolution.

The Venezuelan Ambassador in London, Samuel Moncada, sent a letter to the editor of The Irish Times to point out an error which appeared in the newspaper last Wednesday, 27 January, regarding the former Haitian debt with Venezuela. For this reason, Moncada requested a clarification.

The editorial of The Irish Times stated that: "Haiti still owes….$296 million to Venezuela ”. But this statement was published two days after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had cancelled the Haiti’s debt for the amount of $295 million.

The Ambassador’s letter was published in the Letters Section of The Irish Times on Friday, 29 January, and it reads as follows:

Helping the people of Haiti

Unfortunately the statement in your newspaper that “Haiti still owes….$296 million to Venezuela ”. (Bringing Haiti back from edge, Wednesday 27th January) is inaccurate.

This debt was officially cancelled by the Venezuelan Government last Monday, 25th January.

Haiti’s debt with Venezuela was $295 million, which was mainly due to Venezuela for the oil it supplied to Haiti under its preferential oil pricing scheme through Petrocaribe, a continental programme funded by Venezuela to help alleviate poverty in the region and to aid member nations to overcome the problems of high oil prices and the volatility of such prices.

In addition, Venezuela has also sent to Haiti an advance team of doctors, search and rescue experts as well as food. So far Venezuela has sent 616 metric tons of food aid and 116 metric tons of equipment, including water purification systems, electrical generators and heavy equipment for moving rubble. A tanker with 225,000 barrels of diesel fuel and gasoline (worth approximately $18 million) was shipped from Venezuela last Sunday.

Regarding the debt with Haiti, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said: “Haiti has no debt with Venezuela – on the contrary, it is Venezuela that has a historic debt with Haiti.” Chavez was referring to the support that Haiti – which obtained its independence from France in 1804 – gave Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar in 1815 and 1816 in his quest to free his own country from Spanish colonial rule.

I would therefore very much appreciate it if you would correct the incorrect statement regarding Haiti’s former debt with Venezuela by publishing the above short letter in The Irish Times as soon as possible.
Sincerely,

Samuel Moncada
Venezuelan Ambassador in London