We’ll give Cuba our last barrel of oil.
Venezuela will “fulfill its commitments” to Cuba despite United States sanctions targeting oil shipments from the South American country to its ideological ally, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Monday.
Reuters
If you’re the last airport on earth Iran’ll fly to you.
An Iran airline blacklisted by the United States for allegedly transporting military equipment to Middle East war zones began direct flights between Tehran and Venezuela on Monday, signifying a growing relationship between the two nations in the face of U.S. sanctions and growing upheaval.
Fox
But the last corpse on earth may have to bury itself in a country where the morgues don’t work.
“Manuel’s mother died last night.”
Daily Beast
This is what my friend texted me this morning, telling me about our colleague’s loss.
I’m just about to text my condolences when the phone pings again, and I see something I’ll never be able to unsee.
The body of a woman, covered by a thin white sheet, spread out on an old maroon couch. Next to her are plastic bottles that once contained some sort of off-brand soda, now filled with frozen water and used to keep the body of my friend’s mother from rotting in the heat.
I have spent almost two months in Venezuela and seen more atrocities than I expected in a lifetime, but this, this complete loss of human dignity, may be the worst yet.
A few weeks ago I visited a public hospital here in Caracas and next to it I saw the barred-up doors of the central morgue, closed for weeks because they lacked both refrigeration and personnel. At the time I was wondering what happened to a society with no means to care for the dead and now I have the answer, staring back at me from the screen of my phone.