Venezuelan firefighters arriving to Venezuela after helping the Cuban people extinguishing the Matanzas fire. Photo: Twitter/@PDVSA.
This Monday, the 43 firefighters and technicians from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, sent to help put out the fire in Matanzas, Cuba caused by a lightning strike on August 5, returned safely to the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maequetía, in the state of La Guaira.
🔴ÚLTIMO MINUTO || Acaba de aterrizar el vuelo de Conviasa que trae de regreso a los bomberos y profesionales de @PDVSA que ayudaron a sofocar el fuego en #Matanzas Cuba.
43 hombres y mujeres que trabajaron junto a expertos de México en sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/yYMJaFANsP— Leonel Retamal Muñoz (@LeonelTeleSUR) August 15, 2022
The news was reported by Venezuelan news channel VTV, which covered the reception of the firefighters and technicians. The minister of oil, Tareck el Aissami, welcomed them to the country.
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“We have come to the Simón Bolívar airport to welcome these patriots, brothers, sisters, firefighters, workers; with dignity they represent PDVSA, 43 brothers and sisters who have returned safe and sound,” said El Aissami.
🇻🇪📺 Min. @TareckPSUV: Hemos querido venir a darles la bienvenida y hacerles un reconocimiento por su patriotismo y demostrar su valentía. Siempre estaremos en cualquier circunstancia al lado de Cuba. Como sabemos que Cuba siempre estará acompañando a Venezuela en estos destinos. pic.twitter.com/304lkosyzI
— PDVSA (@PDVSA) August 15, 2022
For Minister Tareck El Aissami, the fire at the storage site in Matanzas was a “regrettable situation, and we express all of our solidarity with regards to those who lost their lives.”
The deep values of socialism
The 43 firefighters who went to support Cuba, “represent a Venezuela which expresses socialism in its deep values, in its fraternity, its cooperation and solidarity. Only a few hours had gone by and you were already at the front,” added the Minister.
He also stressed that these professionals “uphold Venezuelan pride and strengthen even more the deep links between the Cuban and Venezuelan peoples. They are revolutions with one destiny.”
“We will always be with Cuba as Cuba is always with us. We congratulate you in the name of President Nicolás Maduro and the people, you deserve the praises and admiration,” he said.
Permanent solidarity
The Cuban ambassador in Venezuela, Dagoberto Rodríguez, expressed his thanks to the Bolivarian government of Venezuela for the permanent solidarity with the Cuban people.
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“This is the moment to thank you, without hesitation, you were ready to stretch out your hand to your Cuban brothers and sisters, risking your own lives,” he noted.
“You will stay forever in the heart of Cubans,” said Rodríguez. “We will always be deeply grateful for this show of heroism, bravery and knowledge which you displayed during your brief days in Cuba.”
🇻🇪👩🚒 Embajador Dagoberto Rodríguez: Los sueños de solidaridad, los sueños de internacionalismo de Simón Bolívar, de José Martí, y más recientemente de nuestros comandantes Hugo Chávez Frías y Fidel Castro Ruz. pic.twitter.com/sqvONpDECq
— PDVSA (@PDVSA) August 15, 2022
As Cuba struggled to put out the fire, the government requested the help of other countries in the region. Specialists from Mexico and Venezuela responded to the call.
The Cuban government has subsequently given awards to the Mexican and Venezuelan delegations for their solidarity during this catastrophe, during which a supertanker of oil in the industrial zone of the city of Matanzas, Cuba, was struck by lightning. The fire led to the collapse of four of the eight tanks, each one with a volume of 50,000 cubic meters of oil, and resulted in 132 injuries and two deaths.
(Últimas Noticias) by Janna Corredor
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
