Disaster Strikes Twice: How Lethal U.S. Policies Target Cuba Even During Natural Disasters
The Socialist Program with Brian Becker
The Socialist Program
4.7 • 587 Ratings
🗓️ 9 August 2022
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A deadly fire broke out over the weekend in Cuba from a lightning storm that struck near an oil storage facility and caused an explosion. At least one person has been confirmed dead, and dozens more are injured and missing. This tragic natural disaster could have happened in any country, but is even harder on Cuba due to the U.S. war against them...including many of Trump’s policies that Biden hasn’t touched.
Nicole Roussell is joined by Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee and one of the co-founders of the Hatuey Project at hatueyproject.org.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A series of explosions and resulting fires are tearing through an oil storage facility about 50 |
| 0:06.7 | miles from Havana, Cuba, killing at least one, injuring dozens, and leaving many missing. |
| 0:12.2 | What would be a tragic natural disaster for any country is a complete nightmare for Cuba |
| 0:16.3 | due to the U.S. war on Cuba that's designed to destroy the island and the people's socialist |
| 0:20.7 | project. And this war includes many of Trump's policies that Biden hasn't even looked at. |
| 0:26.1 | We need a new system. We need a new society. We need to demand that which may have sounded |
| 0:32.2 | impossible even a few weeks ago, but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. Welcome to The Socialist Program. I'm Nicole Roussel, a producer of this show. If you enjoy or rely on this show or both, please show your support by subscribing to our show at patreon.com |
| 1:11.9 | slash the socialist program. |
| 1:14.0 | Today we'll be speaking to Gloria Lariva. |
| 1:16.1 | She's the coordinator of the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee and one of the co-founders |
| 1:20.3 | of the Hatwe project, a new medical aid project to counteract the deadly effects of the |
| 1:25.0 | U.S. blockade of Cuba by procuring vital medicine and |
| 1:27.9 | equipment that the island country is unable to purchase, which we'll talk more about today. |
| 1:32.2 | Gloria, welcome to the show. |
| 1:33.7 | Thank you so much, Nicole, for the invitation. |
| 1:36.4 | So, you know, we're talking about this horrendous, horrendous natural disaster that happened in Cuba |
| 1:41.7 | over the weekend. You know, these fires are just tearing through |
| 1:45.6 | this oil storage facility. The Cuban government has evacuated people in the area, but, you know, |
| 1:51.2 | there's a series of explosions. I mean, this is a really big deal. What happened? Yes. Well, in Matanzas, |
| 1:56.3 | which is where oil production takes place, both on the land and at sea on the shore. |
| 2:02.8 | Matanzas is a province to the east of Havana, and they have what they call a super tanker base. |
| 2:11.0 | It has several huge oil tanks, each with the capacity of 50,000 cubic meters of oil. |
... |
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