“No one has done more to support the corrupt Maduro regime than Cuba,” Vice President Mike Pence said in a policy speech this month. “The people of Venezuela are essentially Cuba’s hostage.”But the reality of Cuban influence in Venezuela is more nuanced. The extraordinarily tight alliance between the two countries was forged when Castro counseled Hugo Chávez following a failed 2002 coup. A few years later, Marcano and a few dozen Venezuelans traveled to Cuba for military training. There’s a town in western Cuba named for Briones, as well as a military medal emblazoned with his image.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 17, 2019 04:52 UTC