19/01/2010
Brigade Petion-Bolivar constituted to rebuild Haiti

The Brigade of Solidarity Petion-Bolivar was created on Tuesday by the Governments of Haiti and Venezuela, aiming at devising a joint plan to rebuild the Caribbean island.

The information was given by Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, after a meeting held with the Haitian community who lives in the Venezuela.

“It is needed a huge and heroic effort. The humanitarian aid is not enough. In order to help the Haitian people to put up, it is necessary to make a medium-sized and long-term plan,” Maduro stated.

The Minister stressed that Venezuela, the first country in getting the humanitarian aid through to Haiti, is interested on working with the community of that country to organize a project in order to reactivate the nation's economy.

“We know the Haitian community is very hardworking, honest and modest, for that reason we will assume together with them the task of reconstruction,” he added.

In this connection, he informed that there will be carried out a census to the almost 20 thousand Haitians who live in Venezuela and so determine the way they can get involved in the rehabilitation of the nation, which was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake.

Likewise, Maduro reaffirmed that Venezuela's single interest is helping to put up the poorest nation of the region.

“We will not occupy Haiti's territory. Our deployment is of solidarity, not a military force,” declared the Foreign Minister, who complained again about the occupation leaded by the US Army.