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In Reverend Pat Roberson, Has Chavez Finally Met His Match!
—BBC NEWS VIDEO: Televangalist Urges U.S. to Kill Chavez, Aug. 23, 00:02:35
Chavez Dismisses Robertson Death Wish, Offers 'Medical Aid' to
U.S. Poor!
The Venezuelan president apparently thought little of death
wishes from U.S. televangelists. He did, however, offer to enroll 6 million Americans
in Cuba's free health care program, and even said he would sell poor gringos gasoline
at half the going rate. No word yet on how those in need of a doctor will travel
to Havana to receive care.
By Karem Gull
August 24, 2005
Venezuela
- Cadena Global - Original Article (Spanish) 
From Jose Martí airport in Cuba and in comments offered via telephone to Venezuelan State television before departing to Jamaica, President Hugo Chavez dismissed the opinions of
American religious leader Pat Robertson, who suggested that the chief executive
be murdered. "His opinion of me means nothing, neither does it concern
me. I don't even know who this person is," Chavez said.
[Editor's Note: On his daily TV show The
700 Club on Monday, Robertson said, "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate
him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it ... It's a whole lot
cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop."]
Hugo Chavez Appears and Consults with Cuban President Fidel Castro Before Leaving Cuba on Tuesday.
But Chavez said what did concern him was
the level of poverty of certain people in the United States, and he offered aid from his government to help with
the well-being and health of the American people.
Chavez said that some citizens of that country
could be enrolled in the medical program of Cuba, and he even spoke of offering a special program
of direct gasoline assistance to poor communities.
"The level of poverty in the United
States also worries
us. We offer not only to cover 6 million people with medical care over the next ten years, but to train over 200,000 doctors
over the 10 years. We will put them back into the
program," he said.
“Venezuela is also offering energy aid. We could assist some
poor communities by selling them gasoline directly. If we sell directly they
could save a lot of money. If you are going to New York or San Francisco, the price of a barrel of Venezuelan gasoline is
$80. That is almost double the price at which it leaves us, because intermediaries
speculate and raise the price. We are prepared to help poor communities with
doctors but also with fuel."
TRAVEL TO MARTINIQUE
Chavez and 'Brother to His People' Chirac in March
"I go to Martinique at the invitation of President
Chirac. There have been some [church] masses for the terrible accident of
this airplane, and there are hypothesis about whether this had to do with
fuel, or if the fuel was tainted or whether the plane ran out of fuel. Tomorrow
in Martinique I will accompany the relatives and President Chirac,
who is a brother to our people,” he added.
AID TO ECUADOR
He also spoke of the necessity of lowering the cost of power consumption worldwide,
"which means reflecting on the tremendous abuse in regard to wasting energy."
Asked about Venezuelan oil assistance to
the Republic of Ecuador, Chavez said that at this moment a delegation of the
Andean country to preparing its statistics for negotiation, "but we are
going lend them petroleum, and when we know how much they need to tide themselves
over, then that is the amount that we will render, we don’t wish Ecuador to
come to a standstill, nor do we need a new customer.”
Finally, he repeated his customary reaction
to the war against Iraq, describing it as "illegal and immoral"
and appealed to the people of the United States who, in his opinion, "have a lot of work to
do to save the world.”
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