Raul Castro

These famous words pronounced by Raul Castro in commemoration of Haiti 210 years independence. "We will not forget this remarkable historical coincidence that today 1. January - 210 years - the first revolution triumphed in the Latin American and Caribbean region, which was also the first and only victory of the revolutionary movement led by black slaves who fought against this odious system and both the national independence".

Cuban medical teams have played a great role in treating Haiti's earthquake victims. Cuban Medical Internationalism is a Cuban programme, (since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, as part of Fidel Castro's international medical mission) of sending Cuban medical personnel overseas, particularly to Latin America. They were the first to arrive in Haiti with several hundred health personnel. The Cubans, immediately after the earthquake, had set up medical camps among the debris and revamped the collapsed hospital facilities very quickly. The Cuban doctors, nurses, and other health personnel had worked day and night non-stop, Operating rooms were opened 18 hours a day. However, it is a striking fact that there was little mention in the media that Cuba had sent several hundred health personnel on the ground before any other country. Dr Mirta Roses, the director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) who acted as the coordinator between the Cuban doctors, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a host of health sector NGOs, had described the aid provided by Cuban doctors was "excellent and marvelous". In the recent past, a medical brigade of 1,200 Cubans has operated all over the earthquake-torn and cholera-infected Haiti. They have treated over 30,000 cholera patients (around 40% of the total cholera patients) in Haiti. Since 1998, Cuba has trained 550 Haitian doctors for free at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina en Cuba (Elam). Presently another 400 students are receiving free medical education in Cuba.

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According to several news sources, Haitian President Michel Martelly had a meeting with Cuban leader Raúl Castro on behalf of the United States for the release of Alan Gross. According to the sources, he was asked by Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson facilitate the relationship between Cuba and the United States since he has a good relationship with both. It is noted that this meeting took place in early 2013 when President Michel Martelly took a secrete trip to Cuba with his son Olivier Martelly

Following the meeting with the Cuban leader, President Martelly was personally contacted over the phone by Vice President Joe Biden to thank him for his efforts.

After the news of the cessation of the embargo between the United States of America and Cuba, Haitian President, Michel Martelly, issued a statement that expressed his felicitations for the news, as Haiti, closely entwined with both countries, has literally been stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Martelly used Haiti's position to facilitate the negotiations for the release of US citizen, Alan Gross.The tempering of relations between Cuba and the U.S. is expected to be a gradual thing, as both countries need to embark on a process of recovery.

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Here is a picture of Haitian President Michel Martelly in a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Raúl Castro

President Martelly met with President Castro as recently as May of 2014. This time, the Haitian leader was on an official tour of Cuba, and was accompanied by Pierre-Richard Casimir, his foreign affairs advisor, as well as the Minister of Health, Florence Duperval, who thanked the Cuban delegation for their aid in training Haitian medical professional. This too was a propitious line-up, as Minister Duperval would be named Acting Prime Minister after Former Prime Minister Lamothe was recently forced out of office.

A testament to the good relations between the two countries is the role played by the Haitian President in helping Cuba mend its relations with the United States.

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Here is a picture of Haiti's leader Michel Martelly as he is welcomed by Cuba's Raul Castro in Havana

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Here is a picture of the Cuban President Raúl Castro with the Haitian President Michel Martelly during the funeral of Nelson Mandela.

Recently, on the occasion of the 210 anniversary of Haitian independence and also the 55th anniversary of the revolution, Raul Castro stated that Cuba will never leave the Haitian people alone and that we can always count on their modest collaboration

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Here is a picture quite memorable, the historic handshake between Barack Obama and Raul Castro.

This day is historic in many ways: one it is the day of the funeral for one of the greatest leaders in world, Nelson Mandela. It is also the day so many leaders in the world are gathered in one place. However, one of the events that will be in the news media for a while is this historical handshake. Is this the handshake that finally mark the end of the cold war?

I think Raul Castro was as surprised as the next person to the unexpected gesture of President Barack Obama. He smiled when Barack Obama shook hands on his way to the podium at the Soccer City Stadium of Johannesburg

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