Russia Grants New Credit to Cuba to Buy Weapons
HAVANA TIMES – Russia will grant Cuba a state loan of 38 million euros (43 million USD) for the purchase of Russian military equipment, announced today the director of the Federal Service of Military Technical Cooperation, Dimitri Shugaev, reported Europa Press .
The new credit for military equipment comes at a time when the Cuban population is suffering shortages of many basic consumer products including medicines, and also strives to recover from a devastating tornado in the capital.
“The credit agreement was signed and already exceeded all internal procedures of the Russian side,” said Shugaev in an interview to the Russian newspaper ‘Kommersant’ when asked about the status of the agreement on the delivery of the said credit “which must be used to acquire Russian military equipment. ”
According to Shugaev, the military technical cooperation agreement with Cuba came into force in 2006. “Now cooperation is carried out within the framework of the technological cooperation program, which mainly presupposes projects to develop Cuba’s defense sector,” he added, as the Sputnik agency collects.
Shugaev stressed that this cooperation offers Cuba the possibility of developing its long-term military-industrial complex. As he has specified, the funds of this loan will be channeled to the development of technological cooperation and technical assistance to the island.
Whether Cuba should further indebt itself for military equipment, when it is already having problems paying creditors, and is having to cut back on the import of basic consumer products, is a forbidden topic of discussion in the government media.
The U.S. is trying to take over the Carribean and South America!! I would be buying alot of guns; ect. if i was them!! Just saying!! BE PREPARED!!!??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WTF!!! Weapons???? Buy grain!!! It used to be the very poor that had to survive on bread and sugarwater (visit the rural countryside and see how “equal” communism is in Cuba). But lately even the people that have a job can hardly buy bread (nor meat, olive oil and a lot of other products) because there’s hardly any import and everything is becoming scarce or completely non-available.
(I only hope these recent import problems will give the Cubans the power to vote NO to the new constitution and send the government a clear signal that Cuba needs an economic reform based more on giving the people what they need and less on controlling every aspect in the Cuban economy in the current governmental way – stifling al progress, spilling perfectly good food, etc.)
By today’s military standards, $43 million doesn’t buy much. I am assuming that Cuba is interested in small arms and vehicles. Even at this level, not a lot of stuff if you consider this as a multi-year purchase as opposed to a one-time shipment. On the other hand, how many homes could be repaired for that amount of money? How many streets resurfaced? This sounds like a Cuban purchasing manager and a Russian arms dealer figured out a way to make some money on the side.
WTF…..cuba is not needing weapons…my God….stupid people we need something huger than weapons for God sake…..to shoot whom???…..still fucking around…..
Weapons for what use? Against the people when one day says enough? When people ask them for freedom of speech, assembly, basic humans rights? Or for the over fortold imperialist invasions that no one believes any more?