Why Cuba is Watching Venezuela Intently

0:00Today on State of the World, why Cuba is watching Venezuela intently.

0:08You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close, where they're happening. It's Friday, December 19th. I'm Greg Dixon. The Trump administration continues to ramp up pressure on the government of Venezuela. On yesterday's episode, we heard reaction from Venezuelans to the U.S. threat to blockade some oil shipments. Today, why nearby Cuba is paying close attention. NPR's Eder Peralta is in Havana, and he spoke to Leila Faddle. Okay, so first the obvious question. Why does what happens in Venezuela matter to Cuba? Venezuela is Cuba's most loyal friend.

0:49And beyond an ideological connection, Venezuela is a lifeline for the Cuban government. The U.S. has tightened sanctions on Cuba. And right now it's facing the toughest economic period since the fall of the Soviet Union. The government is in debt. It is stretched. It has little access to foreign currency, and sometimes it is having to choose between buying medicine or diesel to keep the lights on in this place. Venezuela has for decades now shipped oil to Cuba at a massive discount. Now the U.S. has also announced a naval blockade against sanctioned oil tankers, and that means Cuba will get less oil from Venezuela.

1:25Yesterday, I spoke to Alejandro Garcia del Toro, the Cuban official who handles bilateral relations with the United States, and he called the move diabolical. This naval blockade is a very serious violation of the international law. It's an aggression. We support the Bolivarian government and the civil and military union in Venezuela. And del Toro says that the U.S. intention here is clear. It's not about drugs, he says. They want to topple President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. And with that, they hope that the Cuban government goes as well. So here we hear from a government official, what are regular Cubans feeling?

2:03What's life like for them? I mean, like I said, things here are tough, and every Cuban is hustling just to make ends meet. I've seen engineers working at vegetable markets. I ran into a gastroenterologist who was leaving work, and she was hustling to her second job, which was cleaning an Airbnb. And that, by the way, pays a lot better than her doctor job. One security guard I spoke to told me he earns 2 ,000 pesos a month. And you know how much a dozen of eggs costs? 1 ,500. So basically, his whole salary goes into one carton of eggs. On the streets, I've heard a lot of worries. Cubans are wondering just how much worse this can get.

2:46I've heard a real discontent with the Cuban government. They blame them for how bad things have gotten. But at the same time, I've also heard people say that this doesn't mean that they want the U.S.

3:02to rubbish. They feel alone at this moment. Let's finish with this wider view. How is the region reacting to U.S. pressure on Venezuela? Yeah, look, I think we're in the middle of history here in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. has returned to a period where, you know, it would flex its military muscle to get its way in Latin America. And it's happening at the same time, we're seeing some deep shifts in the politics of the region. Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, among others, have recently shifted toward the right-wing, U.S.-friendly governments. But every year, the U.N. votes on a resolution calling for an end to the U.S.

3:41embargo against Cuba. Usually, all of Latin America votes in favor. This year, for the first time in a long time, two Latin American countries, Argentina and Paraguay, sided with the United States. The resolution still passed with huge numbers, but this is a sign of how the tide is turning in the region. You know, the Cuban writer Leonardo Palura has this line in his latest book that I keep coming back to. He writes that Cuba feels like more of an island than ever before. And I think those lines really capture what it feels like here at the moment. That's NPR's Eder Peralta reporting from Havana.

4:15Thank you. Thank you, Leila.

4:22That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening. Thank you.