Cuban President Raul Castro Signs Condolence Book for Earthquake Victims in Haiti
Cuban President Raúl Castro visited the Haitian Embassy on Tuesday afternoon to express, in the name of the Cuban people, his deepest sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the 7.2 earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12.
“In response to the enormous tragedy suffered by the Haitian people, their Cuban brothers and sisters will continue to be with them for as long as they are needed. We share the immense pain they are suffering, and together we will move forward,” Raúl wrote in the book of condolences that the embassy has opened.
The Cuban president was received by Haitian Ambassador Jean Víctor Geneus, who reaffirmed the gratitude of his people and government for Cuba’s cooperation throughout all these years, which enabled Cuba to offer immediate medical attention to the earthquake victims and to considerably increase it in the days following.
In an emotional conversation with the ambassador and other Haitian diplomats, Raúl recalled how he saw thousands of Haitian farm workers laboring on Cuban land in the first half of the 20th century, and how he shared his childhood and youth with many of them. He reaffirmed that the solidarity of our people would be for all the years needed, “which is to say, forever,” and above all looking towards the future development of the sister Caribbean nation.
Those who accompanied Raúl and also signed the book of condolences included First Vice President José R. Machado Ventura; Political Bureau members Esteban Lazo Hernández, Army Corps Generals Abelardo Colomé Ibarra and Leopoldo Cintra Frías, Ulises Rosales del Toro and Jorge L. Sierra Cruz. Others present included Gladys M. Bejerano Portela, vice president of the Council of State; Marino Murillo Jorge, and José R. Fernández Álvarez, vice presidents of the Council of Ministers, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
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