President Maduro decorates firefighters and technical experts who helped put out the fire in Cuba. Photo: Presidential Press
This Tuesday, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, awarded a replica of the Carabobo Saber to the Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) team of experts and firefighters who participated in firefighting at the supertanker base in Matanzas, Cuba.
“This brigade is victorious, carrying forward solidarity and a spirit of sacrifice, putting their lives first, because going to Cuba is going to a region of la Patria Grande,” said President Maduro. “They went, alongside their Mexican brothers, with the Cuban people, leaving a well-branded mark of where the sons and daughters of BolĂvar are.”
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The president also presented the Francisco de Miranda Order, in its second class, to the head of the Industrial Fire Department of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Rubert Hurtado, and to firefighter Raquel Angelica Figueroa González, as well as others who traveled to support the Cubans after the fire broke out on August 5.
Additionally, President Maduro ordered the Minister for Petroleum, Tareck El Aissami, and the president of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Asdrúbal Chávez, to establish communication with the Cuban authorities and begin the design and reconstruction of a new supertanker yard for the Cuban people in Matanzas.
“Cuba knows that it has our scientific, technical, engineering, and worker support,” President Maduro said. “Get in touch (Minister Tareck El Aissami) with the oil and energy authorities of Cuba to start the design for the reconstruction of the supertanker yard in Matanzas.”
The Venezuelan head of state stated that the mission of providing support for Cuba, a country that “will not be alone under any circumstance,” was accomplished. “We are united at the root of BolĂvar and JosĂ© MartĂ,” he added.
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Likewise, Maduro noted that the relief operation was delayed 18 hours due to the hijacking of the EMTRASUR cargo plane in Argentina.
“It took 18 hours, and if we had had the EMTRASUR plane, we would have prevented the fire from spreading,” President Maduro said. “Imperialism does harm, the hijacking of the plane limits Venezuela’s solidarity and support for the people.”
For his part, Hurtado specified that the firefighters helped to create a “barrier to prevent the fire from escalating to other sites that were compromised,” and that “all the resilience of the Cuban people was put to the test.”
“We were a sample of what it is to be Venezuelan with our tenacity, know-how, and solidarity,” Hurtado said. “Cuba can use our knowledge for the benefit of its people.” The fire began when lightning set fire to a tank with 26,000 cubic meters of oil. The flames reached three other tanks at the supertanker base in the Cuban city of Matanzas.
(Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/FV/SL
