Luckily, I know the real story and I'm posting it on this thread, too.
There are NOT 11,000 Cuban doctors flowing into Venezuela monthly. That is an ATROCIOUS "misstatement."
At the time of writing of my first article, there were 2,000 in the entire country. Cuba could never afford to lose this monstrous number of doctors. What on earth can you be thinking?
For readers, here is the information concerning the arrangement Cuba as well as ALL THE OTHER CARIBBEAN ISLANDS AND CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES buy(s) oil at an adjusted rate, according to the San Jose agreement, the beginning of which was 1980, with Jamaica, LONG BEFORE CHAVEZ was anywhere near the Presidency.
Here are two of MANY links on the subject:
JudiLyn (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-11-03 02:18 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. Venezuela & Mexico administer San Jose accord,sell oil to Caribbean and Central America, I've got a link to illuminate. There are many more links for anyone who would like to find out more:
Friday, 20 October, 2000, 02:36 GMT 03:36 UK
Venezuela signs cheap oil pact
The world's third-largest oil exporter, Venezuela, has signed an agreement to supply cheap oil to Central American and Caribbean countries.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the accord, which 10 countries signed on Thursday, would support the region's developing economies.
"We are not giving oil away, nor is that what our brothers are asking for - this is a simple co-operation agreement," he said.
A BBC correspondent in the region says the accord is part of attempts by Mr Chavez to gain more influence and fulfill his vision of closer integration.
Critics say the accord provides no benefits for Venezuelan exporters and could be harmful to business.
Loans
The Caracas accord will double the 80,000 barrels of oil a day already provided on favourable terms by Venezuela to 11 of its neighbours under the 1980 San Jose accord, which it administers jointly with Mexico.
Venezuela will finance up to 25% of the cost of the crude when oil prices are over $15 a barrel.
The loans will be for up to 15 years, with a one-year grace period, an interest rate of only 2%, and the opportunity to pay for some of the oil in kind. (snip/...)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/980684.stmSo you can see, CUBA IS NOT THE ONLY COUNTRY TO BENEFIT FROM THIS ARRANGEMENT.
As long as people aren't aware of the actual information, it's easy to sell them anything. That's how propaganda survives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another look at the San Jose accord:
The San Jose Accord, an energy cooperation programme for Central American and Caribbean Countries, arose out of the needto help reduce the heavy oil import burden on non-oil producing countries in the region.
The Accord is a Venezuela/Mexico oil facility initiated in 1980 when the international oil market was experiencing its second shock. The PCJ negotiated on behalf of the Government of Jamaica. Under the agreement, Mexico and Venezuela, under concessionary financial terms, provide 29,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Jamaica.
Under the original Agreement, there was provision for 20% of the cost of the crude oil to be made available as a low interest loan for development projects when the price of oil exceeds US$15 per barrel. The Agreement is reviewed annually and the terms have been modified, making the Accord less concessional.
The Accord provides for:-
Quota allocation to be made to the importing country each year, based on the quantity supplied the previous year.
Deferred payment on 20% of the cost of the crude, to be made available to the government as a low interest loan for development projects.
If development projects are not achieved, then the 20% deferred payment is to be settled within five (5) years.
Petrojam refinery to process crude oil under the Agreement. (snip/)
http://www.pcj.com/alliance_main.htm